The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) have entered into a Cooperative Development Agreement to develop a Manual of Recommended Practice to support providing safe and effective water efficiency and water quality provisions for the built environment.

Titled "Recommended Practices for the Safe Shutdown and Startup of Building Water Systems Due to Emergency," the manual will be developed and administered by IAPMO’s Codes and Standards development resources under a set of development procedures jointly established and agreed to by IAPMO and AWWA. A committee of subject matter experts appointed by IAPMO and AWWA will oversee its creation.

“We’re excited about the agreement to codevelop the Manual of Recommended Practice with AWWA,” IAPMO CEO GP Russ Chaney said. “Both organizations are leaders in developing standards and guidelines pertaining to the safe management of water. This agreement will work to ensure that lessons learned from the horrible COVID-19 pandemic will be captured and put into practice. Considering the profound water scarcity and water quality challenges that both organizations will be confronted with in the years ahead, we suspect that this will be the first of many programs where AWWA and IAPMO will collaborate to provide solutions that work to keep water systems safe.”

“Protecting the water quality in buildings impacted by emergency shutdown actions is a shared area of concern and emphasis for AWWA and IAPMO,” said AWWA Senior Manager of Standards Paul J. Olson, P.E. “We are pleased to be a part of this joint effort to provide expert guidance on safe practices to protect public health, which is AWWA’s first core principle.”