ASSE 1060 and Water Drainage for Enclosures

If it seems like it’s been an unusually rainy 2024, you would be right: 28 states experienced above average precipitation totals for January through July, according to NOAA data. Hurricane Beryl washed out swaths of Texas for over a week starting just after Independence Day; its remnants caused torrential rainfall and flooding from Arkansas and Missouri all the way to Indiana and Ontario, Canada. 

Hurricane Debby in early August was only a category one storm with limited landfall, but 35 million Americans were under flood-related advisories, with some parts of the Eastern Seaboard receiving double-digit rainfall totals in a week.

Any enclosure worth its salt will stand up to extreme conditions, but what separates the good from the great is an enclosure’s ability to drain water. 

We’ve noted time and again about the ASSE 1060 standard and its protection against freezing. But there’s another component we want to highlight: water drainage for enclosures. 

According to the 1060 standard: “All classification enclosures must be designed to discharge water from within the enclosure to prevent equipment submersion.” Enclosures that meet any classification within 1060 parameters cannot retain more than eight inches of water during full discharge of a reduced pressure zone (RPZ) backflow preventer, and must be capable of draining a certain amount of gallons per minute according to the RPZ valve’s diameter.

What does water drainage and enclosures have to do with Hurricane Beryl? Flooding is the easiest way to overwhelm and disrupt water pressure within systems, creating conditions for cross-connection and backflow. What does drainage have to do with hurricanes? Everything. 

Whether it’s an RPZ functioning as intended, or an enclosure protecting your waterworks equipment by evacuating water as a result of torrential rainfall or flooding, Safe-T-Cover enclosures are up to the challenge. Not every enclosure manufacturer can make that claim.

And conventional installation in a below-grade vault isn’t just asking for rainfall collection and flooding, it’s harmful to a backflow or water meter and dangerous, even lethal, for those who inspect or service this equipment.

Winter cold. Summer heat. Gale force winds and torrential rain. No matter the conditions, a Safe-T-Cover enclosure provides superior protection for your property and the water supply. Use our sizing guide to find the enclosure perfectly designed for your RPZ, or contact us to discuss your custom enclosure needs. Don’t risk another severe weather season without Safe-T-Cover on your side.