Water conservation guide for fire protection testing

The HB 233—2008 Fire Protection Systems Testing—Water Conservation Handbook provides building owners, consultants and system designers with recommendations for ways to reduce, re-use or recycle water used to test automatic fire sprinkler systems, hydrants, pumps and hose reels.

The handbook is a companion guide to AS 1851–2005 Maintenance of fire protection systems and equipment. It identifies water conservation issues for a range of tests that require flowing water as part of the maintenance and suggests actions to reduce the amount of water used during testing.

The recommendations, which claim not to compromise the reliability and effectiveness of the tests, include collecting and re-using the water, modifying the frequency of tests and capturing water for recycling.

Easy-to-follow tables included in the handbook show the current average annual water usage for different tests, the amount of water used when the recommended action is adopted and the estimated amount of water that can be saved.

“Water is the most effective means for extinguishing fires, but it is also one of our most precious natural resources currently under threat,” said John Tucker, CEO of Standards Australia.

“Regular maintenance of fire protection systems is critical in ensuring equipment will perform reliably in the event of a fire, but there are safe and responsible measures building owners and others can take to reduce the amount of water used during testing.

“This handbook serves as a guide to help evaluate how best to conserve water usage during required testing and provides the fire protection industry with practical and working solutions to contribute to water conservation."

All recommendations in the handbook, which was authored by Andre Mierzwa, vice-president and operations chief engineer of FM Global, are endorsed by Fire Protection Association Australia, Building Commission (Victoria) and Water Services Association of Australia.