The administrative authority shall have the
right to inspect any plumbing system at such times as may be deemed
necessary to protect the public health, and the administrative authority
or its inspectors shall have the right to enter into and upon any
premises or buildings in the Town for such purposes.
A.
All new plumbing work and such portions of existing
systems as may be affected by new work or any changes shall be inspected
to ensure compliance with all the requirements of this chapter and
to assure that the installation and construction of the system is
in accordance with approved plans.
B.
The owner of residential premises for which plumbing services have been rendered which are subject to approval of the Plumbing Inspector of the Town of Poughkeepsie may call for any inspection by the Plumbing Inspector upon execution of a consent and waiver of liability against the Town of Poughkeepsie, notification of the permittee and payment of a fee as provided in Chapter 105, Fees, which will be returned if the plumbing work is approved and otherwise will be credited to the Town's cost in the event that the plumbing work fails.
[Amended 3-27-1996 by L.L. No. 4-1996]
C.
Inspections for infrastructure construction shall
be performed by the appropriate department for the construction being
undertaken. Sewer service construction will be inspected by the Sewer
Department, water service construction will be inspected by the Water
Department and storm drainage construction will be inspected and certified
to the Town by the engineer employed by the infrastructure contractor,
the property owner or developer for the particular project.
[Added 3-19-1997 by L.L. No. 8-1997]
The administrative authority shall make the
inspections and tests required by this article and, for this purpose,
shall employ an inspector or inspectors who are qualified by their
knowledge, training and experience to make such inspections and tests.
Upon written notice from the administrative
authority or its inspectors, the owner or lessee of premises shall
be required to correct promptly any and all unsanitary and defective
conditions which are likely to have immediate detrimental effects.
The owner or lessees of such premises shall also correct as soon as
possible other unsanitary or defective conditions which may, over
a period of time, have a detrimental effect on health.
A.
Advance notice. It shall be the duty of the plumber
to give advance notice to the proper administrative authority when
plumbing work is ready for test or inspection.
B.
Plumber's responsibility. It shall be the duty of
the plumber to make sure that the work will stand the test prescribed
before giving the above notification.
C.
Retesting. If the proper administrative authority
finds that the work will not pass the test, the plumber shall be required
to make the necessary corrections and the work shall then be resubmitted
for test or inspection.
The equipment, material, power and labor necessary
for the inspection and test shall be furnished by the plumber.
All the piping of a plumbing system shall be
tested with air or water. After the plumbing fixtures have been set
and their traps filled with water, the entire drainage system shall
be submitted to a final test. The proper administrative authority
may require the removal of any cleanouts to ascertain if the pressure
has reached all parts of the system.
A.
Water test. The water test may be applied to the drainage
system in its entirety or in sections. If applied to the entire system,
all openings in the piping shall be tightly closed, except the highest
opening, and the system filled with water to the point of overflow.
If the system is tested in sections, each opening shall be tightly
plugged except the highest opening of the section under test, and
each section shall be filled with water, but no section shall be tested
with less than a ten-foot head of water. In testing successive sections,
at least the upper 10 feet of the next preceding section shall be
retested, so that no joint or pipe in the building, except the uppermost
10 feet of the system, shall have been submitted to a test of less
than a ten-foot head of water. The water shall be kept in the system
or in the portion under test for at least 15 minutes before the inspection
starts; the system shall then be tight at all points.
B.
Air test. The air test shall be made by attaching
an air compressor or testing apparatus to any suitable opening and,
after closing all other inlets and outlets to the system, forcing
air into the system until there is a uniform gauge pressure of five
pounds per square inch or sufficient pressure to balance a column
of mercury 10 inches in height. This pressure shall be held without
the introduction of additional air for a period of at least 15 minutes.
C.
Final test. A final test of the completed drainage
and vent systems shall be made. This may be either a smoke test or
a peppermint test. Where the smoke test is preferred, it shall be
made by filling all traps with water and then introducing into the
entire system a pungent, thick smoke produced by one or more smoke
machines. When the smoke appears at stack openings on the roof, they
shall be closed and a pressure equivalent to a one-inch water column
shall be built up and maintained for 15 minutes before the inspection
starts. Where the peppermint test is preferred, two ounces of oil
of peppermint shall be introduced for each line or stack.
Upon the completion of a section or of an entire
water supply system, it shall be tested and proved tight under a water
pressure of not less than the water pressure under no-flow conditions
at the inlet to the building before the pressure-reducing valve, if
any. Under the conditions where a water service pipe has been installed
by a water district or a water improvement area, the water service
pipe and water supply system shall be considered to begin at the curb
stop.
Leader pipes and branches within a building
shall be tested by water or air.
A.
Prior to test. No plumbing system or part thereof
shall be covered until it has been inspected, tested and approved
as prescribed in this Article.
B.
Removal. If any plumbing system or part thereof is
covered before being regularly inspected, tested and approved as prescribed
in this Article, it shall be uncovered upon the direction of the administrative
authority.
Upon the satisfactory completion and final test
of the plumbing system, a certificate of approval shall be issued
by the administrative authority to the plumber to be delivered to
the owner.
The drainage system of any building, where there
is reason to believe that it has become defective, shall be subject
to test.
No tests or inspections shall be required where
a plumbing system or part thereof is set up for exhibition purposes,
is not used for toilet purposes and is not directly connected to a
water supply or sewerage system.
The administrative authority may revoke a certificate
of approval issued pursuant to this Article if there is a violation
of any provision of this Article or any false statement or misrepresentation
in the application for a plumbing permit or the plans or specifications
submitted in support thereof.
