SECTION 310:661-8-12. Plumbing and other piping systems

(a)   All plumbing systems shall be designed and installed in accordance with the requirements of the appropriate edition of the International Plumbing Code.

(b)   Plumbing Fixtures.

(1)   The material used for plumbing fixtures shall be of non-absorption and acid-resistant material.

(2)   The water supply spout for lavatories and sinks required in patient care areas shall be mounted so that its discharge point is a minimum distance of one (1) inch above the rim of the fixture. All fixtures shall be trimmed with valve, which can be operated without the use of hands. Where blade handles are used for this purpose, they shall not exceed four and one-half (4½) inches in length, except that handles on clinical sinks shall be not less than six (6) inches long.

(3)   Clinical sinks shall have an integral trap in which the upper portion of a visible trap seal provides a water surface.

(4)   Shower bases and tubs shall provide no slip surfaces for standing patients. All towel bars shall be of the handicapped type meeting the two hundred fifty pound (250 lb.) dead load requirement. Shower curtain rods shall be of rigid metal and anchored to insure a two hundred fifty pound (250 lb.) dead load is met.

(5)   Floor and wall penetrations by pipes, ducts, and conduits shall be tightly sealed to minimize entry of rodents and insects. Joints of structural elements shall be similarly sealed.

(c)   Water Supply Systems.

(1)   Before the facility is used the water supply system shall be approved by the health department.

(2)   Backflow preventers (vacuum breakers) shall be installed in hose bibs, janitors' sinks, bedpan flushing attachments, and on all other fixtures on which hoses or tubing can be attached. Two (2) approved reduced pressure backflow preventers in parallel on the domestic water supply are required for sprinkler systems.

(3)   Water distribution systems shall be arranged to provide hot water at each hot water outlet at all times. Hot water at shower, bathing, and hand washing facilities shall not be less than 105°F. nor exceed 115°F. A low temperature-mixing valve shall be required with an anti-scald device (solenoid valve) down stream from mixing valve.

(d)   Water Heaters and Tanks.

(1)   The water heating equipment shall have sufficient capacity to supply water at the temperatures and amounts indicated above. Water temperatures shall be tested monthly and the results monitored at hot water point of use or inlet to processing equipment.

(2)   The anti-scald device shall be arranged to shut off hot water system two degrees (2°) higher than maximum temperature allowed.

(3)   Heater and storage tanks shall be fabricated of corrosion-resistant metal or lined with no corrosive material.

(e)   Drainage Systems.

(1)   Drainage piping shall not be installed within the ceiling nor installed in an exposed location in food preparation centers, food serving facilities, and food storage areas unless special precautions are taken to protect these areas from possible leakage or condensation.

(2)   Building sewers shall discharge into an approved sewerage system.

[Source: Added at 21 Ok Reg 1303, eff 5-27-04]