Upon request, the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DCWASA) performs fire hydrant flow tests for a fixed fee amount of $225. Designers and developers need to know the actual water pressure and available flow rate in the water distribution system for the design of plumbing systems. A fire hydrant flow test is performed to obtain this information. Flow tests are not needed for the design of single family houses or small buildings where the fire protection flow rate is less than 400 gallons per minute.

The Department of Water Services (DWS) performs the flow tests. Flow test requests will be accepted all year, but the flow test requests submitted from December 1 to March 15, will only be completed when the staff has time and when weather conditions are ideal. In the winter months, DCWASA experiences a significant increase in water main breaks and other weather related emergencies. The staff will handle these emergencies before conducting flow tests. The staff will conduct flow tests during the winter season when the weather conditions are ideal (no freezing conditions) and when no high priority emergency work is pending.

1. Applicant must submit a letter of request for a flow test to the Documents and Permits Office (DPO). The letter of request must be accompanied by:
   • An 8.5" by 11" DCWASA counter map showing the lot (building) in question with the location of the proposed or existing water connection to the building
   • An 8.5" by 11" DCWASA counter map showing the location of three fire hydrants selected for flow test. The first two fire hydrants will be marked as the discharge hydrant and the third hydrant will be marked as the residual hydrant. The AWWA requirements for selecting fire hydrant flow test shall be followed as indicated on this attachment.
   • Check made out to the DC Water and Sewer Authority.
   • All of the maps must be stamped or include a title block with the following information: (a) name of the requesting company; (b) date; and (c) signature of the requestor.
   • If possible, all submissions should be in electronic format.
2. The flow test will not be started if all of the information outlined in Step #1 above is not included in the request.
3. DCWASA field staff will inspect the fire hydrants and valves within the area and then conducts flow test(s).
4. After the flow test, DCWASA field staff review and approve results. If the test pressure or flow rate is too low, the field crew investigates for closed or partially closed valves in the distribution system that may be affecting the results of the test. When the field staff finds closed valves, a field crew will redo the test at no additional cost to the applicant.
5. DCWASA will notify the applicant of any problems within the field that delay the flow test(s). The field office submits the flow test results to the Water and Sewer Design Section (WSDS).
6. DCWASA will return the results to the applicant within 3 to 6 weeks except during the winter period and if there are no field problems which will prevent DCWASA from completing the test according to the original schedule. If field problems are encountered, flow test results will be delayed until DCWASA can correct the problems.