Southtowns Record

PBA09.10.2026packet

Government
Town of West Seneca
Board
Planning Board
Meeting
Sep 10, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
Posted by publisher
Sep 4, 2026
Kind
Agenda packet
Topics
Water, sewer and drainage, Zoning and land use, Roads and traffic, Budget and taxes, Public safety, Parks and recreation

Original document

Same meeting

Text · page 42 of 84

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Component  psi  Running
 − Water meter (displacement)  2.5  64.5
 − Service friction (1" copper, 18.8 gpm)  8.8  55.7
 Residual pressure at building entry  55.7
 − Critical fixture requirement (flush-tank WC, §604.3)  20.0  35.7
 Pressure available for interior distribution  35.7 psi ✓
No elevation head is carried. The site and service run are essentially flat, and the governing fixture is the at-grade
flush-tank water closet (20 psi). The highest fixtures — 2nd-floor office lavatories, 13 ft above entry, requiring only
8 psi — remain non-governing even with their ~5.6 psi static lift (8 + 5.6 = 13.6 < 20 psi). Static pressure (72 psi) is
below the 80 psi §604.8 threshold, so no PRV is required; 35.7 psi remains for interior piping friction after the
critical fixture — ample for a building of this size, confirmed at the plumbing permit stage.

8. Fire Suppression Determination
Automatic fire-sprinkler protection is not required for this building. This has been confirmed based on the
occupancy classification, the building area and height remaining within the limits permitted for non-sprinklered
construction, and the fire-resistance-rated separations incorporated in the design. Accordingly, no fire-protection
flow is added and the service is sized for domestic demand only — a material factor in the adequacy of the 1"
service. Any future introduction of a fire-suppression requirement would require re-evaluation (Section 10).

9. Conclusion
The existing 1" copper domestic water service is adequate for the proposed building addition under its non-
coincident daytime/evening pattern of use:
  ●  Design demand: 18.8 gpm — velocity 7.31 ft/s, within the 8 ft/s ceiling.
  ●  Residual at building: 55.7 psi, leaving 35.7 psi for interior distribution after the critical fixture — ample.
  ●  No PRV required (static 72 < 80 psi); no booster; no backflow assembly; no fire-protection demand;
  simultaneous use of both groups is not possible.

10. Recommendation — Future Service Upsizing
The 1" service is adequate for present conditions but carries little reserve (91% of its velocity ceiling at design
demand). The following would render it inadequate and should trigger upsizing:
  ●  Simultaneous (rather than alternating) use of both occupancy groups.
  ●  Change of tenant or occupancy, added fixtures, or conversion from flush tanks to flushometer valves.
  ●  Increased brewery production or overlapping fill demand, added irrigation, or any future fire-suppression
  requirement.
Upsizing is recommended as a programmed future capital improvement, undertaken when funding is available and
ideally coordinated with street/main work, a tenant fit-out, or re-occupancy.
 Service size (copper)  Velocity @ 24.9 gpm*  Capacity @ 8 ft/s  Headroom vs. present
 1" (existing)  9.7 ft/s (over)  ~20 gpm  Occupancy managed
 1½"  4.5 ft/s  ~44 gpm  Simultaneous use OK
 2"  2.6 ft/s  ~77 gpm  long-term growth + fire
  option
* full simultaneous demand (reference). A 1½" service carries full simultaneous demand comfortably (4.5 ft/s); a 2" service adds reserve
for future fixtures, irrigation, brewery growth, or a future fire service. If the service trench or building entry is disturbed under this
project, an oversized sleeve/entry penetration now materially reduces the future upsizing cost.

11. Assumptions, Limitations & Certification
  ●  Existing service (1" Type L copper), developed length, available/static pressures (67/72 psi), and meter
  loss (2.5 psi) are per the Engineer's project data and field information; a purveyor pressure-availability
  letter is recommended for the record.

  Page 42 of 84