North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 62 - State Board of Plumbing › Article 62-04 - State Water Conditioning Code › Chapter 62-04-01 - Definitions › Section 62-04-01-01 - Definitions

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
For the purpose of this article, the following terms shall
				  have the meaning indicated in this section. No attempt is made to define
				  ordinary words which are used in accordance with their established dictionary
				  meaning except where it is necessary to define their meaning as used in this
				  article to avoid misunderstanding.
1.
				"Absorption" means the physical, electrostatic, surface attraction of an
				absorbent for molecules of a gas, liquid, dissolved or suspended substance.
2. "Accessible" means having
				access thereto but which first may require the removal of an access panel,
				door, or similar obstruction. "Readily accessible" means direct access without
				the necessity of removing or moving any panel, door, or similar obstruction.
3. "Acid neutralizer" means
				neutralizer.
4. "Acidity" means
				the presence of compounds that release hydrogen in solution.
5. "Administrative authority" means the
				individual official, board, department, or agency established and authorized by
				a state, county, city or other political subdivision created by law to
				administer and enforce the provisions of the water conditioning code as adopted
				or amended.
6. "Air break
				(drainage system)" means a piping arrangement in which a drain from a fixture,
				appliance, or device discharges indirectly into a fixture, receptacle, or
				interceptor at a point below the flood level rim of the receptacle so installed
				as to prevent backflow or siphonage.
7. "Airgap (drainage system)" means the
				unobstructed vertical distance through the free atmosphere between the outlet
				of waste pipe and the flood level rim of the receptacle into which it is
				discharging.
8. "Airgap (water
				distribution system)" means the unobstructed vertical distance through the free
				atmosphere between the lowest opening from any pipe or faucet supplying water
				to a tank, plumbing fixture or other device and the flood level rim of the
				receptacle.
9. "Alkalinity" means
				the presence of bicarbonates, carbonates, or hydroxides in water.
10. "Anchors" means supports.
11. "Approved" means accepted or acceptable
				under an applicable standard stated or cited in this article, or accepted as
				suitable for the proposed use under procedures and powers of the administrative
				authority.
12. "Backflow" means
				the flow of water or other liquids, mixtures, or substances into the
				distributing pipes of a potable supply of water from any source or sources
				other than its intended source. Backsiphonage is one type of backflow.
13. "Backflow connection" means
				any arrangement whereby backflow can occur.
14. "Backflow preventer" means a device or
				means to prevent backflow.
15.
				"Backsiphonage" means the flowing back of used, contaminated, or polluted water
				from a plumbing fixture or vessel or other sources into a potable water supply
				pipe due to a negative pressure in such pipe.
16. "Backwash filter" means any filter
				requiring reverse flow for maintenance.
17. "Backwashing" means reversing the flow of
				water through a bed of ion exchanger or filter material.
18. "Brine" means a solution of sodium
				chloride (salt) used for regenerating water softeners.
19. "Bypass" means a connection or a valve
				system that allows raw water to be supplied while the water conditioner is
				being cleaned or media changed or serviced in any manner.
20. "Building" means a structure having walls
				and a roof designed and used for the housing, shelter, enclosure, or support of
				persons, animals, or property.
21.
				"Building classification" means the arrangements adopted by the administrative
				authority for the designation of buildings in classes according to occupancy.
22. "Calcium" is one of the
				principal elements making up the earth's crust, the compounds of which when
				dissolved in water make the water hard. The presence of calcium in water is a
				factor contributing to the formation of scale and insoluble soap curds which
				are means of clearly identifying hard water.
23. "Calcium carbonate equivalent" is
				commonly used for expressing all forms of hardness and other salts in the same
				terms.
24. "Capacity" is expressed
				in total gallons (liters) of water treated meeting the specifications and
				produced in a defined period of time.
25. "Cartridge" means any removable preformed
				or prepackaged component, containing the filter media.
26. "Cartridge filter" means a filter using a
				cartridge or cartridges.
27.
				"Cation exchange", in water softening, is principally the exchange of calcium
				and magnesium ions in water for sodium ions on an insoluble ion exchange
				material. Ferrous iron and other metals such as manganese and aluminum are
				sometimes present in small quantities. These metals are also exchanged, but
				they may precipitate and foul the exchanger bed.
28. "Clear water waste" means cooling water
				and condensate drainage from refrigeration, and air-conditioning equipment;
				cooled condensate from steam heating systems; cooled boiler blowdown water;
				water softeners; wastewater drainage from equipment rooms and other areas where
				water is used without an appreciable addition of oil, gasoline, solvent, acid,
				etc., and treated effluent in which impurities have been reduced below a
				minimum concentration considered harmful.
29. "Code" means this article, subsequent
				amendments thereto, or any emergency rule or regulation which the
				administrative authority having jurisdiction may lawfully adopt.
30. "Color throw" means the imparting of
				color by any part of a water softener to the effluent during any state of the
				operating cycle.
31. "Compensated
				hardness" means water with a total hardness of over four hundred milligrams per
				liter as calcium carbonate and over one hundred milligrams per liter of sodium
				as calcium carbonates.
32.
				"Corrosion" means the attack by water on any part of a water system, causing
				the wasting away of metal parts. This would include the most noticeable effects
				of corrosion, which are: leakage, flow stoppage, valve failure, etc.
33. "Cross connection" means any connection
				or arrangement between two otherwise separate piping systems, one of which
				contains potable water and the other either water of unknown or questionable
				safety or steam, gas, or chemical whereby there may be a flow from one system
				to the other, the direction of flow depending on the pressure differential
				between the two systems. (See backflow and backsiphonage.)
34. "Cubic feet" means the volumetric unit
				used for measuring ion exchange materials. Volume is measured on an in-place,
				backwashed, drained, and settled condition.
35. "Deionization" means the removal of all
				ionized minerals from the water in a two step ion exchange process.
36. "Demineralization" means essentially the
				same as deionization.
37.
				"Developed length" means the length of a pipe line measured along the center
				line of the pipe and fittings.
38.
				"Disinfection" means the process of destroying harmful micro-organisms, done in
				accordance with section 62-03-10-09.
39. "Distillation" means a process of
				removing solids from water by converting the water to vapor (by heating), and
				condensing the water (by cooling), and collecting the condensate.
40. "Distributors" means devices to
				distribute or collect the water.
41. "Drain" means any pipe which carries
				wastewater or water-borne wastes in a building drainage system.
42. "Drain line" means a line used to carry
				backwash water, spent regenerant, and rinse water to the waste system.
43. "Drainage system" includes all
				the piping, within public or private premises, which conveys sewage, rainwater,
				or other liquid wastes to a point of disposal. It does not include the mains of
				a public sewer system or private or public sewage-treatment or disposal plant.
44. "Dwelling unit" means one or
				more rooms with provision for living, sanitary, sleeping, cooking, and eating
				facilities arranged for the use of one family or individual.
45. "Effective opening" means the minimum
				cross-sectional area at the point of water supply discharge, measured or
				expressed in terms of (a) diameter of a circle, or (b) if the opening is not
				circular, the diameter of a circle of equivalent cross-sectional area.
46. "Effluent" means the water or
				solution which emerges from a water conditioner during any phase of the
				operating cycle.
47. "Existing
				work" means a plumbing system or any part thereof installed prior to the
				effective date of this article.
48. "Filter" means a device installed as part
				of the water system through which water flows for the removal of turbidity,
				taste, color, or odor.
49. "Filter
				area" means the effective cross-sectional area applicable to the surface type
				filter media only, usually expressed in square feet.
50. "Filter medium (filter media)" means
				medium.
51. "Fixture supply" means
				the water supply pipe connecting a fixture to a branch water supply pipe or
				directly to a main water supply pipe.
52. "Fixture unit (drainage - d.f.u.)" means
				a measure of the probable discharge into the drainage system by various types
				of plumbing fixtures. The drainage fixture-unit value for a particular fixture
				depends on its volume rate of drainage discharge, on the time duration of a
				single drainage operation, and on the average time between successive
				operations.
53. "Fixture unit
				(supply - s.f.u.)" means a measure of the probable hydraulic demand on the
				water supply by various types of plumbing fixtures. The supply fixture-unit
				value for a particular fixture depends on its volume rate of supply, on the
				time duration of a single supply operation, and on the average time between
				successive operations.
54. "Floc"
				means a flocculent mass formed by the aggregation of a number of fine suspended
				particles.
55. "Flood level rim"
				means the edge of the receptacle from which water overflows.
56. "Flooded" means the condition which
				results when the liquid in a container or receptacle rises to the flood-level
				rim.
57. "Flow pressure" means the
				pressure in the water supply pipe near the faucet or water outlet while the
				faucet or water outlet is wide-open and flowing.
58. "Flow rate" means the quantity of water
				or regenerant flowing, measured in gallons per minute.
59. "Galvanic corrosion" means when
				dissimilar metals are in contact with each other and with a solution which can
				carry electricity, a galvanic cell is established, which generates a flow of
				electricity, and as a result, one of the metals is gradually consumed.
60. "Grade" means the fall (slope)
				of a line of pipe in reference to a horizontal plane. In drainage it is usually
				expressed as the fall in a fraction of an inch per foot length of pipe.
61. "Grains per gallon" means a
				common basis of reporting water analysis in the United States and Canada. One
				grain per United States gallon equals seventeen and one-tenth milligrams per
				liter or seventeen and one-tenth parts per million. One grain per Imperial
				gallon equals fourteen and three-tenths milligrams per liter or fourteen and
				three-tenths parts per million. One grain is one seven-thousandths pounds or
				six hundred forty-seven ten-thousandths.
62. "Ground water" means subsurface water
				occupying the zone of saturation. Confined ground water is a body of ground
				water overlain by material sufficiently impervious to sever free hydraulic
				connection with overlying ground water. Free ground water is ground water in
				the zone of saturation extending down to the first impervious barrier.
63. "Hangers" means supports.
64. "Hardness" means dissolved
				calcium and magnesium salts in water. Compounds of these two elements are
				responsible for most scaling in pipes and water heaters, and cause numerous
				problems in laundry, kitchen, and bath. Hardness is usually expressed in grains
				per gallon as calcium carbonate equivalent.
65. "Hardness leakage" means calcium and
				magnesium present in water after passing through a water softener.
66. "Hard water" means treated water
				containing calcium and magnesium salts in concentration of one grain per gallon
				[17.1 milligrams per liter] or more (as calcium carbonate equivalent).
67. "Horizontal pipe" means any
				pipe or fitting which makes an angle of less than forty-five degrees with the
				horizontal.
68. "Hydrogen sulfide"
				means an inflammable, poisonous gas that is found in some water supplies and
				which makes water smell like rotten eggs.
69. "Indirect waste pipe" means a waste pipe
				which does not connect directly with the drainage system, but which discharges
				into the drainage system through an air break or airgap into a trap, fixture,
				receptor, or interceptor.
70.
				"Individual water supply" means a supply other than an approved public water
				supply which serves one or more families.
71. "Insanitary" means contrary to sanitary
				principles - injurious to health.
72. "Installation" means the piping or
				valving by which water conditioners are connected into the water supply system,
				including a drain line.
73.
				"Installed" means altered, changed, or a new installation.
74. "Ion exchange" means a process whereby
				ions in solution are interchanged by a reactive material (see ion exchanger).
75. "Ion exchanger" means an
				insoluble reactive material capable of interchanging ions combined with the
				material for ions in the solution.
76. "Iron" is an element often present in
				ground waters in a soluble form (such as ferrous bicarbonate) in quantities
				usually ranging from zero to ten parts per million. It is sometimes present in
				larger amounts. Iron may exist in surface waters due to natural causes or
				pollution. Iron in solution is susceptible to oxidation, precipitating as
				reddish-brown floc when contacted by air (causing staining and discoloration).
				Iron can be removed by aeration or chlorination followed by filtration. Iron in
				solution can be removed by ion exchange. Oxidizing filters such as manganese
				treated zeolite are used for removing large amounts of iron from water
				supplies.
77. "Liquid waste" means
				the discharge from any fixture, appliance, area, or appurtenance, which does
				not contain human or animal waste matter.
78. "Magnesium" is one of the elements making
				up the earth's crust, the compounds of which when dissolved in water make the
				water hard. The presence of magnesium in water is a factor contributing to the
				formation of scale, and insoluble soap curds which are means of clearly
				identifying hard water.
79. "Main"
				means the principal pipe artery to which branches may be connected.
80. "Manganese greensand" means a processed,
				natural alumino silicate, converted to the oxidized manganese form. This is a
				granular material, generally used for the removal of iron or sulfides, in
				oxidizing filters.
81. "Manganese
				zeolite" means a processed natural, or synthetic alumino silicate, converted to
				the oxidized manganese form (see manganese greensand).
82. "May" is a permissive term.
83. "Media" is the plural of medium.
84. "Medium" means the active
				material in a filter.
85. "Micron"
				means a linear measure of size; one-thousandth of a millimeter; denoted by the
				Greek letter symbol u. The micron is used in filtration work to define particle
				size, in which case it refers to the diameter, or the largest dimension of the
				particle. It is also used to measure the size of pores, openings, or wire mesh.
86. "Milligrams per liter" is a
				common basis of reporting water analysis in the United States and Canada. One
				milligram per liter equals one pound per million pounds of water; seventeen and
				one-tenth milligrams per liter equals one grain per United States gallon.
87. "Neutralizer - (neutralizing
				filter)" means a filter type, mainly used to neutralize acidity or reduce free
				carbon dioxide in water.
88.
				"Nonpotable water" means water not safe for drinking or for personal or
				culinary use.
89. "Nuisance" means
				public nuisance at common law or in equity jurisprudence; whatever is dangerous
				to human life or detrimental to health; whatever building, structure, or
				premise is not sufficiently ventilated, sewered, drained, cleaned, or lighted,
				in reference to its intended or actual use; and whatever renders the air or
				human food or drink or water supply unwholesome.
90. "Operating pressure" means the pressure
				range within which the equipment properly functions.
91. "Pathogenic organisms" means organisms
				that are capable of producing disease.
92. "Person" means a natural person, the
				natural person's heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, and includes a
				firm, partnership or corporation, its or their successors or assigns. Singular
				includes plural and male includes female.
93. "Ph value" means a number denoting
				alkalinity or acidity. Numbers below seven indicate acidity, which increases as
				the number becomes smaller. Numbers above seven indicate alkalinity, which
				increases as the number becomes larger. The Ph scale runs from zero to
				fourteen, seven being the neutral point.
94. "Pitch" means grade.
95. "Plumbing appliance" Any one of a special
				class of plumbing fixtures which is intended to perform a special plumbing
				function. Its operation or control may be dependent upon one or more energized
				components, such as motors, controls, heating elements, or pressure or
				temperature-sensing elements. Such fixtures may operate automatically through
				one or more of the following actions: a time cycle, a temperature range, a
				pressure range, a measured volume or weight; or the fixture may be manually
				adjusted or controlled by the user or operator.
96. "Plumbing appurtenance" means a
				manufactured device, or a prefabricated assembly, or an on-the-job assembly of
				component parts, and which is an adjunct to the basic piping system and
				plumbing fixtures. An appurtenance demands no additional water supply, nor does
				it add any discharge load to a fixture or the drainage system. It is presumed
				that it performs some useful function in the operations, maintenance,
				servicing, economy, or safety of the plumbing system.
97. "Plumbing inspector" means administrative
				authority.
98. "Plumbing system"
				includes the water supply, water-treating or water-using equipment, and
				distribution pipes, plumbing fixtures and traps; soil, waste, and vent pipes,
				sanitary and storm drains and building sewers, including their respective
				connections, devices, and appurtenances to an approved point of disposal.
99. "Pollution" means the addition
				of sewage, industrial wastes, or other harmful or objectionable material to
				water. Sources of sewage pollution may be privies, septic tanks, subsurface
				irrigation fields, seepage pits, sink drains, barnyard wastes, etc.
100. "Portable exchange tank" means a
				softener or filter unit which is owned by a dealer and supplied on an exchange
				basis to a customer.
101. "Potable
				water" means water free from impurities present in amounts sufficient to cause
				disease or harmful physiological effects and conforming in its bacteriological
				and chemical quality to the requirements of the public health service drinking
				water standards or the regulations of the public health authority having
				jurisdiction.
102. "Precoat" means
				the application of a loose filter medium to a supporting membrane.
103. "Pressure drop or pressure loss" means a
				differential in pressure during flow due to frictional resistance in the
				system. It may be expressed in pounds per square inch of feet of head (of
				water).
104. "Private or private
				use" applies, in the classification of plumbing fixtures, to fixtures in
				residences and apartments and similar installations.
105. "Public or public use" applies in the
				classification of plumbing fixtures, to every fixture not defined under private
				use and public includes all installations where a number of fixtures are
				installed and their use may be restricted or unrestricted.
106. "Public water main" means a water supply
				pipe for public use controlled by public authority.
107. "Rated service flow" means the
				manufacturer's specified maximum flow at which the conditioner will deliver
				water for a minimum period of ten minutes at a pressure drop not to exceed
				fifteen pound per square inch [6.80 kilograms per 6.45 square centimeters].
108. "Rated softening capacity" is
				based on grains of hardness removed (as calcium carbonate) while producing soft
				water between successive regenerations and must be related to pounds of salt
				required for each regeneration.
109. "Raw water" means water at the inlet of
				the water treating unit.
110.
				"Receptor" means a fixture or device which receives the discharge from indirect
				waste pipes.
111. "Recharging
				cycle" means when a water softener becomes exhausted and is incapable of
				removing hardness, the bed must be "recharged" by passing a strong solution of
				salt through it.
112.
				"Regeneration" includes, in general, the backwash, brine, and fresh water rinse
				steps, necessary to prepare the exchanger bed for service after exhaustion.
				Specifically, the term may be applied to the "brine" step in which a sodium
				chloride solution is passed thru the exchanger bed. The sodium ions displace
				the hardness ions from the exchanger to permit the hardness to be rinsed to
				drain; also, includes the maintenance steps (not necessarily in this order) to
				backwash, precoating, or fresh water rinse or other treatment necessary to
				prepare or restore a conditioner for service.
113. "Resin" means a synthetic organic ion
				exchange material such as high capacity cation exchange resin widely used in
				water softeners.
114. "Rim" means
				an unobstructed open edge of a fixture.
115. "Rinse" means that part of the cycle of
				a water conditioner operation where water is introduced to remove spent
				backwash water or regenerant prior to placing the conditioner into service.
116. "Riser" means a water supply
				pipe which extends vertically one full story or more to convey water to
				branches or to a group of fixtures.
117. "Roughing-in" means the installation of
				all parts of the plumbing system which can be completed prior to the
				installation of fixtures. This includes drainage, water supply, and vent
				piping, and the necessary fixture supports, or any fixtures that are built into
				the structure.
118. "Rust" - see
				iron.
119. "Salt" means high
				purity sodium chloride of a granular, rock, or briquetted type used for
				regenerating a water softener.
120. "Scale" means a hard insoluble mineral
				deposit (usually of calcium and magnesium compounds).
121. "Service run" means that part of the
				operating cycle of a water conditioner in which the raw water supply is passed
				through a conditioner, thereby producing quality water.
122. "Shall" is a mandatory term.
123. "Shielded (insulated)" means the
				separation of metallic parts by a nonconductor.
124. "Slope" means grade.
125. "Soft water" means treated water
				containing less than one grain per gallon (17.1 milligrams per liter) dissolved
				calcium and magnesium salts (as calcium carbonate equivalent).
126. "Soil pipe" means a pipe which conveys
				sewage containing human or animal waste to the building drain or building
				sewer.
127. "Solution feeder"
				means a small pump or eductor unit used to feed a measured amount of chemical
				solution into a water supply to solve a water problem.
128. "Supports" means devices for supporting
				and securing pipe, fixtures, and equipment.
129. "Suspended matter" means all undissolved
				material in water.
130.
				"Turbidity" means any undissolved materials in water, such as finely divided
				particles of sand, clay, etc.
131.
				"Upflow" means the direction (up) in which water flows through the ion exchange
				bed during any phase of the operating cycle.
132. "Vacuum" means any pressure less than
				that exerted by the atmosphere.
133. "Vacuum breaker" means backflow
				preventer.
134. "Vacuum breaker,
				nonpressure type (atmospheric)" means a vacuum breaker which is not designed to
				be subject to static line pressure.
135. "Vacuum breaker, pressure type" means a
				vacuum breaker designed to operate under conditions of static line pressure.
136. "Vacuum relief valve" means a
				device to prevent excessive vacuum in a pressure vessel.
137. "Vertical pipe" means any pipe or
				fitting which makes an angle of forty-five degrees or less with the vertical.
138. "Waste" means liquid waste
				and industrial waste.
139. "Waste
				pipe" means a pipe which conveys only waste.
140. "Water conditioning" is any processing
				of water which renders it more satisfactory for use.
141. "Water distributing pipe" means a pipe
				within the building or on the premises which conveys water from the water
				service pipe to the point of usage.
142. "Water outlet" means a discharge opening
				through which water is supplied to a fixture, into the atmosphere (except into
				an open tank which is part of the water supply system), to a boiler or heating
				system, to any devices or equipment requiring water to operate but which are
				not part of the plumbing system.
143. "Water riser pipe" means riser.
144. "Water service pipe" means
				the pipe from the water main or other source of potable water supply to the
				water distributing system of the building served.
145. "Water softener" means a device
				installed as part of a water system which produces soft water by cation
				exchange removing calcium and magnesium (hardness from flowing water, replacing
				it with sodium, thereby requiring periodic regeneration with sodium chloride
				(salt).
146. "Water supply system"
				means the water service pipe, the water-distributing pipes, and the necessary
				connecting pipes, fittings, control valves, and all appurtenances in or
				adjacent to the building or premises.
147. "Zeolite" means a processed natural, or
				synthetic, alumino silicate. See also manganese greensand and manganese
				zeolite.
General Authority:
NDCC
				   43-18.1-03
Law Implemented:
NDCC
				   43-18.1-04