Calculating Fixture Unit Load for Applications for a Special Plumbing Permit for an On-Site Waste Water Management

System
This information is to be read in conjunction with the Application for Special Plumbing Permit for an On-Site Waste Water Management System checklist and form.

Legislation
For an application for a Special Plumbing Permit for an On-Site Waste Water Management System the Building Act 2000 requires that Written detail of the proposed fixture unit load on the system or parts of the system is provided.

What is Fixture Unit Load

Each sanitary plumbing fixture has a fixture unit rating as detailed in Table 6.1 of AS/NZS 3500.2:2003 : Plumbing and Drainage - Sanitary Plumbing and Drainage. Fixture Unit is defined in AS/NZS 3500.0:2003 as A unit of measure, based on the rate of discharge, time of operation and frequency of use of a fixture, that expresses the hydraulic load imposed by that fixture on the sanitary plumbing installation. The total of these ratings is the fixture unit load on the system.

Fixture Unit Ratings for Domestic Fixtures

The table on the back of this InfoSheet lists the fixture unit rating for most common waste water fixtures in a dwelling. You will need to refer to Table 6.1 of AS/NZS 3500.2:2003 for fixtures not listed.

What Does It All Mean?

Knowledge of the unit fixture load is required so that the grade and size of the discharge pipe to the waste water management system is properly sized to ensure that wastewater is effectively drained from the building. Generally speaking for a standard graded discharge pipe of 100mm on a grade of 1.65% (1:60) a maximum fixture unit load of 115 is permitted.

Futher Information
For more information about fixture unit loads talk to your plumber or hydraulic design engineer.

Updated: 14 August 2006 A208964

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TABLE OF FIXTURE UNIT RATINGS FOR DWELLINGS Fixture Basin Bath (with or without a shower) Bath (shower) Bidet Domestic clothes washing machine (see Note 1) Domestic dishwashing machine (see Note 2) Floor waste gully Without fixture With fixture (see Note 3) Shower Sink Single, double (with or without disposal unit) Bar, domestic Laundry trough (single or double) Water closet Bathroom group in a single room (basin, bath, shower, water closet) Fixture abbreviation B Bth. Bath (shr) Bid CWM DWM FW 0 as per fixture rating Shr S BS(D) Tr.(L) WC 2 3 1 5 4 6 Fixture unit rating 1 4 4 1 5 3

NOTES: 1. Where a clothes washing machine (CWM) is connected to a trough trap, only the trough fixture unit rating is considered. 2. Where a dishwashing machine (DWM) is connected to a sink trap, only the sink fixture unit rating is considered. 3. Where waste fixtures are connected to a floor waste gully (FW), the fixture unit rating of the floor waste gully is the sum of the fixture unit ratings of the fixtures connected.

Updated: 14 August 2006 A208964

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