NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Contaminant Accumulation and Removal in Building Plumbing Systems
Published
Author(s)
Stephen J. Treado, Mark A. Kedzierski, Daniel R. Flynn, David Wilmering, Thomas D. Montgomery, Kenneth D. Cole
Abstract
This report summarizes measurements and results conducted to evaluate the accumulation and removal of water-borne contaminants in building plumbing systems. In particular, tests were conducted at the BFRL Plumbing Test Facility, which emulates a full-scale building water supply system in a controlled laboratory setting. The measurement results highlighted the difficulty in removing contaminants that have been introduced into building plumbing systems, even for relatively simple configurations such as straight pipe sections, and particularly for large water tanks such as hot water heaters. Simple flushing with cold tap water may require very long flush times to remove persistent contaminants such as diesel fuel and strychnine, and while capable of substantially reducing the number of spores in a water supply system, may benefit from supplementary decontamination procedures such as flushing with hot water, cleaning solutions or hyper-chlorination
contamination, decontamination, flushing, piping, plumbing, water supply
Citation
Treado, S.
, Kedzierski, M.
, Flynn, D.
, Wilmering, D.
, Montgomery, T.
and Cole, K.
(2008),
Contaminant Accumulation and Removal in Building Plumbing Systems, Technical Note (NIST TN), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=861643
(Accessed October 9, 2025)