Water Supply Modeling for Fire Protection
Evaluating municipal and rural water supplies
Joint Meeting of TFPA and the NFSA Texas Chapter
Location Details: Online
Program: Evaluating the municipal or rural water supply serving a building is a key design feature when developing on-site fire hydrant supplies and fire suppression systems. The basis of this design is typically a fire hydrant flow test or some other prediction of available water supply. Capturing the static and residual pressure during flow conditions provides only a snapshot of the water supply performance in an area. Seasonal changes, demands over the course of the day, network maintenance, and a variety of other factors can influence the quality of the water supply test and impact the prediction of future capacity.
Fire flow requirements in International Fire Code (IFC) Appendix B will be discussed, as will the impact of the fire flow data on the development of automatic sprinkler and standpipe system designs (IFC §903 and IFC §905). The mechanics of these designs, target capacities, and safety factors will be presented by a Technical Committee Member of NFPA 13, 24 and AWWA.
This presentation will give engineers and sprinkler system designers insight on the performance of large city water supply systems (San Antonio Water System and Austin Water) and the factors that may influence available supplies for firefighting. Staff engineers from metropolitan water purveyors will discuss how to use water supply data and existing system modeling data to support fire protection system design efforts. Topics such as Hydraulic Grade Lines, pressure zones, known seasonal fluctuations, and insight into maintenance and impairment identification will be discussed by the water purveyors.
The presentation will also discuss design tools that are available in areas without adequate water supply systems. These areas are common in extra-territorial jurisdictions and in Private Utility Districts (PUDs) across South Texas. A portion of the presentation be delivered by a municipal Authority Having Jurisdiction and will describe design techniques used to achieve code compliance when water supplies fall short of the IFC Appendix B requirements.
Attendees will gain an overall perspective of how to effectively measure a current water supply, predict its future performance, and plan fire protection safety systems in typical metropolitan and rural settings.
Presenters:
Tracey Lehmann, San Antonio Water System
Roland ASP, National Fire Sprinkler Association
Carl Wren, Georgetown Fire Department
GET YOUR CEUs: TFPA members who participate in this program will receive ICC Preferred Provider and TCFP CEU credits. If you're not currently a member, TFPA membership is only $20/year to receive CEUs and other benefits.
Schedule:
9:00 - 9:10 a.m. - Business meeting
9:10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Presentation
REGISTRATION DEADLINE:
December 12th at 10:00 a.m.