Navigating Evolving Industry Pump Standards While Optimizing Performance

Ensuring compliance and performance in municipal vertical turbine pumps

Pump manufacturers play an important role in helping customers meet evolving municipal vertical turbine pump regulations and standards while simultaneously optimizing performance. Working with industry organizations like the Hydraulic Institute (HI), the global authority on pumps and pump systems, helps maintain compliance with key pump standards and puts companies in a good position to keep up with industry trends.

What are the different types of pump standards and why do they matter?

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has developed more than 150 consensus standards for equipment used in critical municipal water applications. These include detailed standards covering minimum requirements for vertical turbine pumps, for example, American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/AWWA E102 for submersible types and E103 for vertical line shaft types. 

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has certified the Hydraulic Institute as an approved standards development organization. HI publishes complementary standards addressing pump design, performance, testing, installation, and maintenance. This includes more than 30 national standards covering pump and system nomenclature, definitions, design, application, installation, operation, maintenance and testing. 

HI standards cover the whole range of positive displacement and rotary type pumps. Municipal projects often mandate compliance with these respected standards, providing engineers and stakeholders documented assurance of safety, quality, and reliability. National Pump Company (NPC) is currently serving on 19 HI training and certification program committees and contributing to the creation and revision of industry standards, guidebooks, and tools.

In addition to ANSI and HI standards, pumps used for potable water frequently require NSF/ANSI 61 certification to confirm that materials used are safe for drinking water systems. ISO 9001 certification is commonly requested for manufacturers to guarantee rigorous quality assurance in the manufacturing processes. 

What’s more, municipalities are increasingly demanding pumps that meet operational requirements while also delivering measurable energy savings. Compliance with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards (or equivalent energy performance mandates in other countries) are becoming standard in bid specifications. This serves to reduce operational costs while aligning with government policies for sustainable water management. 

As municipalities strive to optimize maintenance, reduce downtime, and maximize pump runtime, Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled performance tracking, automated monitoring, and even artificial intelligence (AI)-based diagnostics are gaining traction. Many stakeholders have cited these smart features as critical to purchasing decisions, reflecting a shift toward more data-driven and proactive water infrastructure management.

Last, but certainly not least, there is also a strong industry momentum to upgrade legacy wastewater and potable water systems. Major government investments, such as those prompted by the EPA Clean Water Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, prioritize energy-efficient, high-reliability pumping solutions sourced from domestic or regionally compliant manufacturers.

Evolving regulations and standards are influencing pump design and material selection

In recent years the Hydraulic Institute has been pushing for greater consistency – trying to move the industry from a system in which individual companies have maintained an often confusing inconsistency in various aspects, to one with a standardization between manufacturers.

Another key trend is a push for regulations that ensure materials used in pumps do not have a negative effect on human health. To this end, HI standards committees are working on finding alternative pump materials, testing them to see how they perform in the field, and aligning them with existing standards and regulations. 

One significant example is the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a large group of synthetic chemicals prized for their water-resistant capabilities and used since the 1950s.

Until recently, PFAS materials’ excellent sealing properties and surface profile for efficiency and performance made it the go-to material for many pumps. Now that the industry has come to understand its harmful health effects, there has been a move toward developing standards governing the applications in which the material is – or is not – acceptable. For example, PFAS is increasingly prohibited for pumps designed for use in drinking water treatment plants, but might be acceptable in an industrial plant for processing steel (or in other cases in which the pumped fluid is not potable). It might also be considered if it is the only material available for a specific application. Standards committees and manufacturers are working with material scientists to define acceptable limits, develop alternative materials, and establish test methods that verify those materials do not adversely affect human health.

PFAS-related regulations are evolving and vary by state; most are targeting specific uses. One example is California, which is currently considering regulating PFAS use in camping and cooking equipment and firefighting foam, but not considering its use in pumps, whose wide range of uses make it more difficult to carve out meaningful standards.

As an industry, pump manufacturers and parts producers are currently working with material scientists to find materials that can replace PFAS while working as well – and without incurring large cost increases.

Benefits of compliance-driven design changes 

One of the most often overlooked considerations is the benefits of compliance-driven design changes to reliability, efficiency, or total cost of ownership (TCO). Any change in an industry standard nearly always benefits the end user.

Sometimes, those in a particular industry do not agree initially, because they have become used to doing things a certain way. Take the example of the agriculture industry, in which lower efficiency electric motor standards were the norm. Since the DOE mandated a change to newer premium efficient motors, the industry’s TCO has been much reduced. Over time, industry-wide costs come down as the supply chain adapts, and manufacturers can supply higher efficiency equipment without detriment to the end user.

Work on HI committees helps anticipate and adapt to regulatory and performance trends

NPC’s work with HI committees strengthens its ability to anticipate and adapt to regulatory or performance trends by placing the company on the forefront of issues and trends. Seeing how individual manufacturers are dealing with issues and discussing how to approach them helps company experts advise customers on adapting more quickly. Years before the national conversations about PFAS regulations began heating up, NPC had been working on substituting PFAS materials and researching what changes could be made to reduce their use.

At the same time, knowing how end users’ needs differ from other industry segments, NPC uses the HI committee meetings to serve as the voice of the customer to communicate when something in a standard might be too stringent – or not stringent enough – to fit typical customer needs. By gathering customer feedback on issues, NPC can “reality test” proposed standards and bring back the responses to the group.

Ensuring that certification and testing processes meet standards and certifications 

It is essential that engineers critically examine the exact language given on how products planned for use in their facility meet specific standards and certifications. Take the example of NSF 61 (officially NSF/ANSI/CAN 61) certification, a strict safety standard that establishes minimum health effects requirements for materials, components, and products that come into contact with drinking water. Some pump manufacturers may use language to imply they have certification when they do not. They may say they are “compliant” with certification with third party testing. Other companies will reach out and try to work with engineers to change language so their products appear to qualify. Look for the precise wording used – and make sure they can provide documentation to show they meet those requirements. Ask whether the pump and its wetted materials are certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 by NSF or an equivalent accredited third party, and request a current certification document rather than relying on “compliant” language alone.

This can be hard to parse for end users, who have to conduct component testing for drinking water system components. NSF 61 outlines how one tests the material to verify the levels in it do not harm human health. Any company can say their materials meet NSF 61 if tested, but they do not actually test them. They’re not being audited by that third party to clarify that when you test the materials, they do not impact human health. Remember, NSF regulations call for replacing an entire pump system if there is sickness that can be traced back to non-compliant pumps, which could have a devastating impact on the entire community.

Make no mistake: there can be financial consequences. Say a water treatment plant has an expectation that it meets the regulation, or its funding is tied to a regulation, for example, Build America Buy America, in which a certain percentage of the pump must be made in America. If the pump is audited and does not meet the requirement, the whole project could be at risk of funding litigation problems. 

One way NPC is helping with this issue is with the development of an NSF 61-certified product catalog with a substantial range of new material options. The latest update added 19 materials, raising the number of potential component and material combinations to more than 199 million, giving engineers and end users an unmatched level of flexibility when specifying pumps. 

Another example is API 610, a globally recognized standard of the American Petroleum Institute which dictates the minimum requirements for centrifugal pumps used in the petroleum, petrochemical, and natural gas industries. API 610 ensures pumps are safe, highly reliable, and capable of handling extreme temperatures, pressures, and corrosive fluids. Feigning compliance could put the plant at risk of failure, downtime, or operational problems. Can the pump manufacturer provide documentation to show that they meet those requirements? It is one thing to say you can meet the API, 610, standard, but another to actually provide the documentation that the standard outlines.

It is important to balance compliance with performance optimization. For example, NPC often works with facilities and manufacturers to provide documentation showing alternative materials that meet the requirements of the standard, while providing the same or better performance with lower upfront or long-term costs.

Looking down the road at upcoming changes in industry standards 

Pump specifiers and engineers should prepare for changes to industry standards in the next few years. First and foremost is an increase in efficiency regulations. As materials and manufacturing efficiency increases, so does the efficiency of products, including pumps and motors. The overall increase in energy demands highlights the importance of pumps that can perform at higher than current efficiencies. Interestingly, today’s Department of Energy regulations cover only small household pumps, but there is talk of increasing the scope to cover larger sizes.

There is also talk of control systems and automation, integrated with AI-enabled pump systems that will help facilities operate more efficiently and quickly. Where previously an operator had to turn a valve by hand if a pump was not operating properly, now the computer will tell the valve how much to turn based on an automatic pressure reading. Many more systems are integrating to use smart sensors, which in the future will require pumps that can keep up with these new systems. To that end, HI is working on certifications to support the trend of increased interchangeability and integration with system measurement for operating components, including the motor, variable frequency drive, and input sensors. 

Another factor is the need to develop standards to cover items that had never been written down in previous generations because they were considered as industry-given. As older pump manufacturers and engineers retire and fewer young people enter the manufacturing field, standards will likely have to be revised to be more all-encompassing.

One critical industry standard currently under discussion is scale versus field testing. Shipped in pieces and assembled on site, vertical turbine pumps can be up to 1000 feet long. Since pumps of this length cannot be directly physically tested, pump manufacturers often conduct a factory scale test, also known as a bowl test. This factory testing method mathematically interpolates the information from the bowl test. Differences in measurement methods mean bowl test results do not exactly match those in the field, often making it difficult for stakeholders to agree on testing results. This situation points to the need for a standard for field versus factory testing that will accurately show units, pressure measurements, flow and power measurements, and correction (input versus output power). An HI committee is currently working on a standard to aid in interpreting factory and field test results.

Work on standards promotes the continued success of pumps and their systems

Industry standards allow the pumping industry to agree on minimum pumping equipment requirements as well as provide guidance on critical aspects of municipal pump systems. Clear and consistent standards help utilities and manufacturers design optimum systems and promote the continued success of pumps and their systems.

About the Author

Kenric Freiwald is a Product Development Engineer at National Pump Company, a Gorman-Rupp Company brand, specializing in vertical turbine line shaft and submersible pump systems for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and oil & gas applications. He has progressed from Application Engineer through project engineering roles into product development, working across system selection, detailed mechanical design, and standards compliance (HI, API, AWWA, NSF). His expertise includes pump hydraulics, vibration analysis, mechanical design, and manufacturability, with experience supporting engineering workflow and configurator improvements. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northern Arizona University, where he served as Drivetrain Team Lead for the SAE Baja competition team, and maintains a certification as a Vibration Institute Category I Analyst.