Wisconsin Legislature: SPS 381.01(218)

“Public building” means any structure, including exterior parts of such building, such as a porch, exterior platform or steps providing means of ingress or egress, used in whole or in part as a place of resort, assemblage, lodging, trade, traffic, occupancy, or use by the public or by 3 or more tenants. When used in relation to building codes, “public building” does not include a previously constructed building used as a community-based residential facility as defined in s. 50.01 (1g) which serves 20 or fewer unrelated residents or an adult family home, as defined in s. 50.01 (1).

(197m) “Public lavatory” means a lavatory located in a public restroom or located outside of a public restroom. Hand wash sinks required by Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), Department of Health Services (DHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), or United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are considered public lavatory fixtures.

(198) “Public sewer” means a sewer owned and controlled by a public authority.

(199) “Public water main” means a water supply pipe for public use owned and controlled by a public authority.

(199m) “Push-fit fitting” means a mechanical fitting that joins pipes or tubes and achieves a seal by pushing the mating pipe or tube into the fitting.

(200) “Quick closing valve” means a valve or faucet that closes automatically when released manually or controlled by mechanical means for fast action closing.

(201) “Receptor” means a fixture or device that receives the discharge from indirect or local waste piping.

(202) “Redoximorphic feature” means a feature formed in the soil matrix by the processes of reduction, translocation and oxidation of iron and manganese compounds in seasonally saturated soil.

(203) “Reduced pressure detector fire protection backflow prevention assembly” means a type of reduced pressure principle type backflow preventer serving a fire protection system and which includes a parallel flow meter to indicate leakage or unauthorized use of water downstream of the assembly.

(203m) “Reduced pressure fire protection principle backflow preventer” means an assembly serving a fire protection system and consisting of 2 independently-acting check valves, internally force loaded to a normally closed position, and separated by an intermediate chamber or zone in which there is a hydraulically operated relief means of venting to atmosphere, internally forced loaded to a normally open position. The term “reduced pressure principle backflow preventer for fire protection systems” has the same meaning as reduced pressure fire protection principle backflow preventer.

(204) “Reduced pressure principle backflow preventer” means a cross connection control assembly consisting of 2 independently-acting check valves, internally force-loaded to a normally closed position and separated by an intermediate chamber or zone in which there is a hydraulically operated relief means for venting to atmosphere, internally force-loaded to a normally open position. These assemblies are designed to operate under continuous pressure conditions. The assembly shall include 2 properly located, tightly closing shut-off valves and properly located test cocks.

(205) “Relief vent” means a vent which permits additional circulation of air in or between drain and vent systems.

(206) “Riser” means a water supply pipe that extends vertically one full story or more.

(207) “Roof drain” means a drain installed to receive water collecting on the surface of a roof and to discharge it into a conductor.

(208) “Roughing in” means the installation of all parts of the plumbing system which can be completed prior to the installation of fixtures including drain, water supply and vent piping and the necessary fixture supports.

(209) “Rowhouse” means a building which is not more than 3 stories in height and which contains only 3 or more attached, vertically separated, side-by-side or back-to-back dwelling units, with each dwelling unit served by an individual exterior exit within 6 feet of the exit discharge grade.

(209m) “RV transfer tank” means a type of stationary container used to collect and hold wastewater discharges generated by an individual camping trailer or recreational vehicle.

(210) “Safing” means a membrane or material installed beneath a fixture to prevent leakage from escaping to the floor, ceiling or walls.

(211) “Sand interceptor” means a receptacle designed to intercept and retain sand, grit, earth and other similar solids.

(212) “Sanitary sewer” means a pipe that carries wastewater consisting in part of domestic wastewater.

(212e) “Scrub sink” means a plumbing fixture used for hand and arm washing prior to surgery or other medical procedures.

Note: A scrub sink may also be referred to as a surgeon washup sink.

(213) “Scum” means the accumulated floating solids generated during the biological, physical or chemical treatment, coagulation or sedimentation of wastewater.

(214) “Secretary” means the secretary of the department of safety and professional services or designee.

(214m) “Service sink” means a fixture designed to be used for building or facility maintenance.

Note: A service sink may also be referred to as a mop sink, mop basin or janitor’s sink.

(215) “Servicing” has the meaning as specified under s. NR 113.03 (57).

(216) “Sewage” means wastewater containing fecal coliform bacteria exceeding 200 CFU, colony forming units, per 100 ml.

(217) “Sewage grinder pump” means a type of sewage pump which macerates wastewater consisting in part of sewage.

(218) “Sewage pump” means an automatic pump for the removal of wastewater from a sanitary sump.

(218m) “Siphonic roof drain system” means a drainage system designed to receive water collecting on a roof surface via negative pressure conditions created by roof drains that allow water to enter the stormwater piping system while minimizing the ingress of air, generating a negative differential fluid pressure within the piping system thereby inducing full-bore flow without pipe gradient.

(219) “Slip-joint” means a connection in which one pipe slips into another, the joint of which is made tight with a compression type fitting.

(220) “Sludge” means the accumulated solids generated during the biological, physical or chemical treatment, coagulation or sedimentation of water or wastewater.

(221) “Small commercial establishment” means a commercial establishment or business place with a maximum daily wastewater flow rate of less than 5,000 gallons per day as determined from the design criteria of the state plumbing code. Small commercial establishment includes a farm, including a residence on a farm, if the residence is occupied by a person who is an operator of the farm and if the maximum daily wastewater flow rate of the farm and the residence on the farm is less than 5,000 gallons-per-day as determined from the design criteria of the state plumbing code.

(222) “Soil” means the naturally occurring pedogenically developed and undeveloped regolith overlying bedrock.

(223) “Soil consistence” means the resistance of soil material to deformation or rupture as related to the degree of adhesion and cohesion of a soil mass.

(224) “Soil horizon” means a layer of soil material approximately parallel to the land surface and differing from adjacent genetically related layers in physical, chemical, or biologic characteristics.

(225) “Soil morphology” means the physical or structural characteristics of a soil profile particularly as related to the arrangement of soil horizons based on color, texture, structure, consistence, and porosity.

(226) “Soil profile” means a vertical section of soil containing one or more soil horizons.

(227) “Soil profile evaluation” means a determination of soil properties or characteristics as they relate to wastewater or nonwater-carried human waste treatment or dispersal.

(228) “Soil structure” means the combination or arrangement of individual soil particles into definable aggregates or peds, which are characterized and classified on the basis of size, shape, and degree of distinctness.

(229) “Soil texture” means the relative proportions of sand, silt and clay (soil separates) in a soil.

(229m) “Special wastewater” means any wastewater containing deleterious waste material as defined in s. SPS 382.34 (3) (b).

(230) “Spigot” means the end of a pipe which fits into a bell or hub.

(231) “Spill level” means the horizontal plane to which water will rise to overflow through channels or connections which are not directly connected to any drainage system, when water is flowing into a fixture, vessel or receptacle at the maximum rate of flow.

(231m) “Spill resistant vacuum breaker” means a cross connection control assembly consisting of one check valve force-loaded closed and an air inlet force loaded open to atmosphere located downstream of the check valve. The assembly also includes 2 tightly closing shut-off valves and 2 test cocks or a no. 1 test cock and a bleed valve.

(232) “Spring line, pipe” means the line or place from which the arch of a pipe or conduit rises.

Note: See ch. SPS 382 Appendix for an illustration depicting the spring line of a pipe.

(233) “Stack” means a drain or vent pipe that extends vertically one full story or more.

(234) “Stack vent” means a vent extending from the highest horizontal drain connected to a stack.

(235) “Standpipe” means a drain pipe serving as a receptor for the discharge wastes from indirect or local waste piping.

(236) “State” means the state of Wisconsin, its agencies and institutions.

(237) “State plumbing code” means chs. SPS 381 to 387.

(238) “Sterilizer, boiling type” means a device of nonpressure type, used for boiling instruments, utensils, or other equipment for disinfecting.

(239) “Sterilizer, instrument” means a device for the sterilization of various instruments.

(240) “Sterilizer, pressure” means a pressure vessel fixture designed to use steam under pressure for sterilizing.

Note: A pressure sterilizer is also referred to as an autoclave.

(241) “Sterilizer, pressure instrument washer” means a pressure vessel designed to both wash and sterilize instruments during the operating cycle of the device.

(242) “Sterilizer, utensil” means a device for the sterilization of utensils.

(243) “Sterilizer vent” means a separate pipe or stack, indirectly connected to the drain system at the lower terminal, which receives the vapors from nonpressure sterilizers, or the exhaust vapors from pressure sterilizers, and conducts the vapors directly to the outer air.

(244) “Sterilizer, water” means a device for sterilizing water and storing sterile water.

(245) “Storm sewer” means a pipe, other than a pipe located inside a building, that carries any of the following: storm water, groundwater or clear water.

(246) “Storm water” means wastewater from a precipitation event.

(247) “Subsoil drain” means that part of a drain system that conveys groundwater to a point of discharge or dispersal.

(248) “Sump” means a tank or pit that receives wastewater that must be emptied by mechanical means.

(249) “Sump pump” means an automatic device located in a sump, pit or low point that is designed to elevate storm water, groundwater or clear water.

(250) “Sump vent” means a vent pipe from a nonpressurized sump.

(251) “Supports” means hangers, anchors and other devices for supporting and securing pipes or fixtures to structural members of a building.

(252) “Surface water” means those portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior within the boundaries of Wisconsin, all lakes, bays, rivers, streams, springs, ponds, impounding reservoirs, marshes, water courses, drainage systems, and other surface water, natural or artificial, public or private within the state or under its jurisdiction, except those waters which are entirely confined and completely retained upon the property of a facility.

(253) “Swimming pool” means a structure, basin, chamber or tank containing an artificial body of water for swimming, diving or recreational bathing.

(254) “Temperature and pressure relief valve” means a combination relief valve designed to function as both a temperature relief and pressure relief valve.

(255) “Temperature relief valve” means a temperature actuated valve designed to automatically discharge at a designated temperature.

(256) “Tempered water” means water ranging in temperature from 85°F. to less than 110°F.

(256e) “Ten-year, 24-hour storm” or “10-year, 24-hour storm” means a discrete rain storm event characterized by a specific duration, temporal distribution, rainfall intensity, return frequency and total depth of rainfall.

Note: The frequency, intensity, and duration of rainfall varies considerably during a storm by geographic location. Precipitation frequency atlases, NOAA Atlas 2, have been prepared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service. In chapter SPS 382, this value may be expressed as a specific “design storm”. The calculated volume of rainfall, or stormwater, may be determined from this value and used to calculate peak discharge.

(256m) “Thermal disinfection” means a method of providing bacterial control within a water distribution system using water that is heated and initially circulated to a minimum temperature of 140°F and with a minimum temperature of 124°F at the point of return to the heat source.

(257) “Total suspended solids” or “TSS” means solids in wastewater that can be removed readily by standard filtering procedures in a laboratory and reported as milligrams per liter (mg/L).

(259) “Trap” means a fitting, device or arrangement of piping so designed and constructed as to provide, when properly vented, a liquid seal which prevents emission of sewer gases without materially affecting the flow of wastewater through it.

(260) “Trap seal” means the vertical distance between the top of the trap weir and the top of the dip separating the inlet and outlet of the trap.

(260m) “Trap seal primer, drainage and electric types” means a device designed to supply water to a drain trap to provide and maintain its water seal by using a supply fixture drain line, an anti-siphon fill valve for water closet tanks, flushometer valve tailpiece, or an electric trap seal primer.

(261) “Trap seal primer, water supply fed” means a type of valve designed to supply water to the trap in order to provide and maintain the water seal of the trap.

(262) “Trap weir” means that part of a trap that forms a dam over which wastes must flow to enter the drain piping.

(263) “Turf sprinkler system” means a system of piping, appurtenances and devices installed underground to distribute water for lawn or other similar irrigation purposes.

(264) “Unsaturated soil” means soil in which the pore spaces contain water at less than atmospheric pressure, as well as air and other gases.

(265) “Vacuum” means any pressure less than that exerted by the atmosphere.

(265e) “Vacuum breaker tee” means an assembly of fittings designed to eliminate the possibility of back siphonage in a system by allowing air to enter through a tee fitting.

(266) “Vacuum relief valve” means a device that admits air into the water distribution system to prevent excessive vacuum in a water storage tank or heater.

(266m) “Vector control” means any method to limit or eradicate the mammals, birds, insects or other arthropods, collectively called ”vectors,” which transmit disease pathogens.

(267) “Vent” means a part of the plumbing system used to equalize pressures and ventilate the system.