October 2012
3-17
Once finalized, the
Proposed New Standard 188
,
Prevention of Legionellosis Associated
with Building Water Systems
can assist building owners and managers in reducing
the risk of legionellosis by specifying a practice to identify the conditions in a build-
ing water system that can be made less favorable to the growth and transmission of
Legionella
.
17
In addition, medical facilities should consider facility-specific health and
safety needs before installing low-flow faucets or faucets with automatic sensors. For
example, medical facilities might want to install laminar flow devices instead of fau-
cet aerators. Since laminar flow faucets do not inject air into the water, there might
be a lower risk of bacterial contamination.
Some restrooms can also be equipped with metered or self-closing faucets. Metered
faucets, when activated by the user, dispense a preset amount of water before shut-
ting off. Self-closing faucets, operated with a spring-loaded knob, automatically shut
the water off when the user releases the knob.
The standard flow rate of a faucet is dictated by its intended end use, as described
below.
Private-Use Lavatory Faucets
To promote and enhance the market for water-efficient, private-use lavatory faucets,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense® program has pub-
lished a specification to label water-efficient,
high-performing residential lavatory faucets
and faucet accessories. WaterSense labeled
lavatory faucets and faucet accessories
18
are
independently certified to use between 0.8
gallons per minute (gpm) at 20.0 pounds
per square inch (psi) and 1.5 gpm at 60.0
psi, which is 20 percent less than the federal
standard.
Public-Use Lavatory Faucets
The Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992 address-
es metered faucets found in public restrooms
and sets a maximum water use of 0.25 gallons
per cycle (gpc).
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(
ASME) A112.18.1/Canadian Standards Asso-
ciation (CSA) B125.1 specifies a maximum flow
rate of 0.5 gpm at 60.0 psi for non-metered
public-use lavatory faucets. Although not
17
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). June 2011.
Proposed Standard P188, Prevention of Legionellosis Associated
with Building Water Systems
.
18
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense program. WaterSense Labeled Sink Faucets & Accessories.
.
3.4
Faucets
Faucet aerator, 0.5 gpm
