Section NR 811.25 - Buildings(1) CONSTRUCTION. All water system related buildings under s. NR 811.24 shall meet all of the following requirements: (a) Have adequate space for the installation of additional pumping units, water treatment equipment, chemical feed equipment, or controls, if needed, and for the safe servicing of all equipment.(b) Be durable, fire and weather resistant, and constructed in a manner to maximize sanitary protection of the water supply.(c) Be secure. Buildings shall have at least one outward opening door to the outside. All doors, windows, and hatches shall have locks. Any security alarms installed shall be connected to telemetry control and SCADA systems where such systems are used.(d) Be landscaped to conduct surface drainage away from the station and have a floor elevation at least 6 inches above the finished grade and at least 2 feet above the regional flood elevation as determined in s. NR 116.07 (4). Buildings shall be provided with year round dry land access. Below grade installations may be permitted only if the terrain at the site is such that a gravity drain system can be provided. Subsurface pits or pumprooms and inaccessible installations intended to house well heads, pumps, pump motors, or pump controls for pumping stations are prohibited except for below grade booster pumping stations as allowed per s. NR 811.80 (3) and (4).(e) Provide for all floors to drain so that floor runoff does not enter the treatment process or source water. Floors shall be sloped to a drain or sump.(f) Provide a suitable outlet for drainage water from pump glands so that the disposal of any drainage water is piped to waste or otherwise disposed of in a controlled manner. Pump gland drainage piping shall not be directly connected to a hub drain or a floor drain.(g) Be provided with concrete floors.(h) Be provided with at least one floor drain meeting the following requirements: 1. Floor drains and hub drains shall be properly separated from a well. A floor or hub drain and associated piping accepting water from pump gland drainage, a pressure relief or control valve, a sampling faucet, or the floor shall be located no closer than 2 feet to the outer well casing. No building drain piping, except that piping leading to the aforementioned floor or hub drains, containing blackwater or graywater, may be located closer than 8 feet to the outer well casing.2. Floor drains and hub drains shall have a discharge location that complies with all of the following requirements: a. Floor drains and hub drains may be connected to a sanitary sewer where available if the building floor elevation is at least one foot above the rim elevation of the nearest upstream sanitary sewer manhole. If a sanitary sewer is available but a manhole is not located nearby or the manhole does not comply with the upstream location or the one foot requirement, the department may require installation of an additional manhole on the sanitary sewer main or on the sanitary building sewer. Note: The department recommends that the floor drains from chemical feed rooms discharge to a sanitary sewer whenever practicable.
b. Floor drains and hub drains may discharge to the ground surface if the building drain and building sewer piping will only carry water from the floor or hub drain, the discharge location shall be at least 25 feet from the pumphouse, the exterior invert of the building sewer pipe shall be at least 6 inches below the building floor elevation and the exterior pipe opening shall be covered with a corrosion resistant rodent screen. A greater distance may be required for drains of pump stations serving wells constructed in sand and gravel formations. The piping shall terminate in a location that will not allow backflow of surface water into the building.bm. A floor drain or hub drain may be connected to a storm sewer where available if the building drain and building sewer piping will only carry water from the floor or hub drain and if the building floor elevation is at least one foot above the rim elevation of the nearest upstream storm sewer manhole. If a storm sewer is available but a manhole is not located nearby or the manhole does not comply with the upstream location or the one-foot requirement, the department may require installation of an additional manhole on the storm sewer main or on the building sewer discharge line.c. Floor drains and hub drains may discharge to a buried tank located a minimum of 50 feet from the well if the discharge to the building drain and building sewer piping will contain only water from pump gland drainage, a pressure relief or control valve, a sampling faucet or floor drainage. These buried tanks may not be installed unless approved by the department's bureau of watershed management wastewater section prior to installation. Floor drains and hub drains may discharge to a POWTS holding component located a minimum of 200 feet from the well if the discharge will contain toilet, sink or other sanitary or domestic waste. These POWTS holding components may not be installed unless approved by the department of safety and professional services prior to installation. In either case the rim elevation of the access manhole to the tank shall be at least one foot below the building floor elevation and a high water alarm shall be installed for the tank in accordance with the requirements of s. SPS 383.43 (8) (e).d. Soil infiltration components, including french drains, are prohibited.3. The drain may be a trench drain system if the lowest elevation of any trench drain complies with subd. 2. a. Where trench drains are to be connected to a sanitary sewer and compliance with subd. 2. a. is not possible, a sump containing a sump pump shall be installed in the trench to discharge the trench water with a minimum 2 pipe diameter free air break over a hub drain. The top elevation of the hub drain shall be at least one foot above the elevation of the nearest upstream sanitary sewer manhole rim. Where trench drains will discharge to grade the exterior invert of the building sewer pipe shall be at least 6 inches below the lowest elevation of the trench drain and the exterior pipe opening shall be covered with a corrosion resistant rodent screen.4. Floor drains shall be constructed of department of safety and professional services approved plumbing materials. The building drain piping shall be constructed of cast iron or PVC piping within 10 feet of the outer well casing.(i) Pitless units shall be provided with a locked and vented watertight enclosure fastened watertight to a concrete floor. The enclosure shall be weather resistant, of sufficient size to accommodate all well appurtenances and electrical or auxiliary power connections and be accessible for year-round inspection, water sample collection, and water level data collection. Any enclosure vents shall be shielded from the elements and wind-blown debris and the vent openings shall be covered with 24-mesh corrosion resistant screens. Backfill material for slab-on-grade enclosures shall be compacted in lifts. Any slab-on-grade concrete floor shall have minimum dimensions of 4 feet by 4 feet by 6 inches thick and be provided with reinforcing.(j) A small, doghouse-type, enclosure may be installed over a well and abbreviated above grade pump discharge piping where chemical addition equipment or hydro-pneumatic pressure tank storage is located remote from the well. The department may waive portions of the building installation requirements for small enclosures. The enclosure shall be secured watertight to a concrete floor and allow for convenient access to the well, piping and any appurtenances. The enclosure shall be locked as applicable. If a floor drain will not be installed, the floor shall be sloped to drain toward the access door if one is provided.(2) EQUIPMENT SERVICING. Pumping stations shall be provided with all of the following: (a) Crane-ways, hoist beams, eyebolts, or other facilities necessary for servicing or removal of pumps, motors, or other heavy equipment where appropriate.(b) Openings in floors, roofs or wherever needed for removal of heavy or bulky equipment. For well pumphouses, a secured roof hatch shall be located over the well.(3) STAIRWAYS AND LADDERS. Stairways or ladders shall be provided between all floors and in pits or compartments which are to be entered.(4) HEATING. Adequate heating shall be provided for the safe and efficient operation of the equipment. Note: In buildings not occupied by personnel, only enough heat need be provided to prevent freezing, unless higher temperatures are required for proper chemical addition or to allow water treatment and control equipment to function properly.
(5) VENTILATION. Ventilation for all pumping stations, pumphouses, and water treatment plant buildings is governed by applicable building codes.(6) DEHUMIDIFICATION. A means for dehumidification shall be provided in pump rooms and in other water system related buildings where excess moisture could cause or is causing safety hazards or damage to equipment or piping.(7) LIGHTING. All pumping stations, pumphouses, and water treatment plant buildings shall be provided with adequate interior and exterior lighting. The design of exterior lighting should promote security.(8) SANITARY AND OTHER CONVENIENCES. All pumping stations, pumphouses, and water treatment plants shall be provided with potable water, lavatory, and toilet facilities except for unoccupied automatic stations or if such facilities are available elsewhere. All plumbing including fixtures, backflow protection, floor drains, hub drains, piping and their installation, testing, and maintenance shall conform to the requirements of chs. SPS 302, 305 and 381 to 384.(9) MULTIPURPOSE BUILDINGS. Water supply buildings may be enclosed in or attached to buildings that serve multiple purposes such as a park building, garage, office, storage or restroom facility if the purposes for which the building are used are compatible with the protection of the water supply. In all cases the water supply facilities shall be separated by walls from the other building uses with access to the water supply facilities gained by separate locked doors and restricted to authorized water system personnel. The specific requirements for multipurpose buildings shall comply with subs. (1) to (8) where applicable.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Natural Resources NR 811.25
CR 09-073: cr. Register November 2010 No. 659, eff. 12-1-10; correction in (1) (h) 2. c., 4., (8) made under s. 13.92(4) (b) 6, 7., Stats., Register December 2011 No. 672.Amended by, CR 22-074: cr. (1) (h) 2. bm. Register January 2024 No. 817, eff. 2/1/2024