AWWA Standards

AWWA Standards are vital guidelines for all facets of the drinking water community. They provide the minimum requirements for design, installation, performance, and manufacturing of products used in the water industry, including pipe, chemicals, storage facilities, valves, and other appurtenances.

Volunteer members of AWWA Standards Committees have produced more than 140 Standards that provide industry-approved technical guidance for 24 categories of products and processes in municipal water supply. AWWA regularly issues new Standards and annually revises 20 to 25 Standards. Official notices of such actions are published online and in  AWWA Streamlines and Journal AWWA. 

To serve on a Standards Committee, please review our Volunteer Opportunities site and submit a Volunteer Application.

Reasons why your water utility should use AWWA Standards:

• Best practices. AWWA Standards provide industry-recognized best practices for water utility management and operations. Each Standard undergoes a formal, scheduled review to update it with current utility best practices.
• Quality assurance. AWWA Standards have been developed for every major type of chemical, pipe, and appurtenance used in municipal water service. That means you can be confident when you select products and processes that meet the requirements of AWWA Standards.
• Industry consensus. AWWA Standards represent a consensus of the water supply industry. Each AWWA Standard is developed by a dedicated committee and subjected to a rigorous, formal approval process.
• Most used. The largest, best-managed, North American water and wastewater utilities as well as manufacturers of fine pipe, equipment, and chemicals use AWWA Standards exclusively to ensure quality and performance. Thousands of utilities of all sizes in North America and in dozens of countries have adopted AWWA Standards.
• ANSI approved. AWWA is an ANSI-approved standards developing organization for the water industry. Accreditation by ANSI signifies that the procedures used by AWWA in connection with the development of American National Standards meet the Institute’s essential requirements for openness, balance, consensus, and due process. Before an AWWA Standard is issued, it must be approved by ANSI. ANSI accreditation is your additional assurance of excellence of each and every AWWA Standard.

Buying AWWA Standards

AWWA Standards are available in three-hole-punch print format or on a CD-ROM from the AWWA Bookstore or as downloadable PDF documents from The Water Library, AWWA’s new research and download resource.