California approves CPVC pipe

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — The California Building Standards Commission has completed adoption of new building standards that include approval of CPVC pipe statewide.

The new regulations approve CPVC pipe for use in residential water supply piping systems. CPVC has been a nationally accepted material since 1982, but California has only permitted its use on a limited basis since 2001. The California Department of Housing and Community Development prepared and certified an environmental impact report resulting in a recommendation that the commission adopt and approve the use of CPVC. The commission's vote was unanimous and CPVC will be placed in the 2007 California Plumbing Code.

The Arlington, Va.-based Vinyl Institute welcomed California's approval of CPVC pipe for residential plumbing as "a major victory for California consumers." The decision could reduce the cost of a typical California home by several thousand dollars by replacing copper piping with CPVC pipe, the institute noted.

"This decision finally puts California in step with the rest of the nation," said Tim Burns, president of the Vinyl Institute. "The unnecessary 20-year delay restricted choice and cost California homeowners and home builders many millions of dollars."

CPVC piping systems have been approved for use in areas in California where water testing indicated that copper would fail prematurely.

Rosario Marin, secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency and chair of the commission added: "For the first time in nearly 10 years, California will have a complete set of building codes based on the latest national and international model building codes, making use of the most current technologies and methods of construction. This will put California back in the forefront as a leader in the use of the latest technology for building safety, fire prevention, safe construction and code enforcement."

Commission Executive Director David Walls said he anticipated that the 2007 California Building Standards Code will be published this summer.

The code is comprised of 12 parts that incorporate public health and safety standards used in the design and construction of buildings in California. It includes standards for energy efficiency, seismic design and access compliance for persons with disabilities.

The recently approved building standards were developed by the housing department, commission, Office of the State Fire Marshal, Division of the State Architect, and Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. They will be published in the California Building Code, California Electrical Code, California Mechanical Code, California Plumbing Code and California Existing Building Code, which are all parts of the California Building Standards Code.