The International Code Council (ICC) and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) released a new American National Standards Institute (ANSI) consensus standard—the ASABE/ICC 802-2014 Landscape Irrigation Sprinkler and Emitter Standard —to classify sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, set uniform testing procedures and establish minimum design and performance requirements for commercial and residential landscape irrigation components.
“For the first time, the industry has a standard that establishes uniform testing procedures for key components of landscape irrigation systems,” said Dominic Sims, CEO of ICC. “We are confident this standard will ensure landscape irrigation professionals have access to performance information that is consistent between manufacturers to support the design of efficient, water-smart systems with greater consistency and performance.”
The standard defines and categorizes various types of devices, including sprays, rotors, multi-stream/multi-trajectory nozzles, bubblers, drip emitters and microsprays. It also addresses standardized test procedures for common test parameters including flow rate, distance of throw and uniformity.
Other standard highlights include:
- burst pressure test procedures and minimum requirements;
- distribution uniformity calculation methods based on various spacing types;
- minimum requirements for integral pressure regulation;
- new test procedures for missing or damaged nozzles;
- new test procedures for drip emitters and microsprays coordinated with the ISO 9261 standard; and
- new provisions for the communication of product performance data.
Representatives from manufacturers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense Program, the Irrigation Association (IA), the Alliance for Water Efficiency, water utilities, landscape architects, regulators and academia all weighed in on the standard.
Timothy Malooly, president of Water in Motion, chaired the collaborative standard development team. Brent Mecham, industry development director from the IA, was vice chair.
“Assembly and publication of this new ANSI-accredited sampling and reporting standard for landscape irrigation sprinklers is timely,” Malooly said. “My hope is this standard will be embraced widely and the information made available by its use will result in improved decision-making when considering component products used in landscape irrigation system design, installation, maintenance and operation.”
The ASABE/ICC 802-2014 Landscape Irrigation Sprinkler and Emitter Standard is available in the ICC Online Store.
