Castle Rock, Colorado, Adopts Water Demand Calculator® for Residential Water Supply Pipe Sizing

CASTLE ROCK, CO – The City Council of Castle Rock, Colorado, has voted to adopt the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC®) Appendix M of IAPMO – the Water Demand Calculator® – as an alternative method for sizing single-family and multi-family water pipes. The Castle Rock City Code has been amended to require the use of the Water Demand Calculator for sizing water service lines and internal plumbing service lines.

The Water Demand Calculator is a revolutionary tool that accurately predicts peak water demand in single-family and multi-family homes, reducing the building's carbon footprint and providing consumers with savings on utility bills for water and water heating throughout the life of the plumbing system. At the same time, proper sizing significantly minimizes the potential danger of bacterial growth in the system, which can lead to such serious health risks as Legionnaires' disease.

Castle rock

Castle Rock, a community of 85,000 located 30 miles south of Denver, has set a goal of using 100 percent renewable water sources by 2065 and hopes to reach 75 percent by 2050. The Water Demand Calculator will contribute to this effort by reducing the amount of water that is unintentionally wasted by residents. Using the Water Demand Calculator reduces the minimum pipe sizes required in any residential building, thereby reducing the potential water age of the water in the plumbing system. This minimizes the risk of water quality problems and also has a positive effect on water conservation as hot water reaches the fittings more quickly.

“This change to city code will support our water conservation efforts by properly sizing water supply piping while helping to protect water quality, supporting requirements for additional water-saving plumbing fixtures and reducing material costs for home construction,” he said Matthew HayesPE, Castle Rock Technical Engineering Manager.

Castle Rock is the first city in Colorado to adopt Appendix M into its codes and standards, joining major cities such as Houston, Seattle, San Jose and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as the states of California, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada . New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.

Effective innovation

“IAPMO appreciates the Castle Rock City Council’s vision and thanks Mark Marlowe, Director of Castle Rock Water, Rick Schultz, Water Efficiency Supervisor, and Matthew Hayes, Technical Engineering Manager, for their commitment as IAPMO and Castle Rock make this happen “We worked together on the launch,” said IAPMO Vice President for Technical Services and Research Christoph LohrE.P

The Water Demand Calculator represents the most influential innovation in pipe sizing in nearly a century. It is the result of a multi-year effort to develop a new, statistical data-based method for pipe sizing that is based on the need to address deep water safety and water concerns. and address energy waste resulting from oversized water supply pipes in homes and buildings.

The Water Demand Calculator version 2.2 and user manual and related videos are available at https://www.iapmo.org/we-stand/water-demand-calculator/water-demand-calculator-california. For specific information about the water needs calculator or to provide feedback, please contact Lohr at [email protected].