Capacity of Sewer Pipes

Carrying capacity of sewer and wastewater pipes - gpm and liter per second
The diagrams below can be used for design of sewage and wastewater gravity conveying systems
where capacities in GPM or liter per second and the slopes of the pipe lines are known.

Sewage Pipe Capacity - Imperial units - gpm

Sewage Pipe Capacity - SI Units - liter per second

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The table below indicates sewage pipe capacity in gpm:

Carrying Capacity of Sewer Pipe (gallons per minute)
Decline per 100 ft of pipe (ft)

Size of
pipe
(inches)

12

24

36

13

19

23

32

40

46

64

79

27

38

47

66

81

93

131

163

75

105

129

183

224

258

364

450

153

211

265

375

460

527

750

923

205

290

355

503

617

712

1006

1240

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Carrying Capacity of Sewer Pipe (gallons per minute)

Decline per 100 ft of pipe (ft)

Size of
pipe
(inches)

12

24

36

10

267

378

463

655

803

926

1310

1613

12

422

596

730

1033

1273

1468

2076

2554

15

740

1021

1282

1818

2224

2464

3617

4467

18

1168

1651

2022

2860

3508

4045

5704

7047

24

2396

3387

4155

5874

7202

8303

11744

14466

27

4407

6211

7674

10883

13257

15344

21770

26622

30

5906

8352

10223

14298

17717

20204

28129

35513

36

9700

13769

16816

23760

29284

33722

47523

58406

The discharge rate is based on clean water and half filled pipes.

1 gal (US)/min = 6.30888x10-5 m3/s = 0.227 m3/h = 0.06309 dm3(liter)/s = 2.228x10-3 ft3/s =
0.1337 ft3/min = 0.8327 Imperial gal (UK)/min

Example - Capacity of Sewer Pipe

The capacity of a 4 inches sewer pipe with decline 12 ft per 100 ft pipe can be indicated from the
table above to 93 gpm.

Drainage Fixture Unit Loads for Sanitary Piping

Maximum Drainage Fixture Unit - DFU - Loads for sanitary piping
The maximum permissible Drainage Fixture Unit (DFU) loads for sanitary piping can be estimated
with the table below.

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Maximum Drainage Fixture Units - Stacks and Horizontal Fixture Branches

Maximum Drainage Fixture Units (DFU)
Pipe Size
Horizontal
fixture
branch

Stacks less
than 3
stories in
height

NPS
(inches)

DN
(mm)

1 1/20)

40

20)

50

2 1/20)

Stacks more than 3

stories high
Total for
stack

Total for one

story

10

24

65

12

20

42

80

201)

481)

722)

201)

100

160

240

500

90

125

360

540

1100

200

150

620

960

1900

350

0)

No water closet permitted

1)

Maximum two water closets

2)

Maximum six water closets

Maximum Drainage Fixture Units - Building Drains and Building Drain Branches from
Stacks
Maximum Drainage Fixture Units (DFU)
Pipe Size

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Slope in/ft (cm/m)

NPS
(inches)

DN
(mm)

1/4 (2.1)

1/2 (4.2)

20)

50

21

26

Maximum Drainage Fixture Units (DFU)

Pipe Size

Slope in/ft (cm/m)

NPS
(inches)

DN
(mm)

1/4 (2.1)

1/2 (4.2)

2 1/20)

65

24

31

80

421)

501)

100

216

250

125

480

575

150

840

1000

Drainage Fixture Unit Values (DFU)

DFU are used to determine the drainage from fixtures and the necessary capacity
of the sewer service systems
The Drainage Fixture Unit Values (DFU) are defined by the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC), and can
be used to determine the required drainage capacity from the fixtures and their service systems.

Minimum Size
Individual Appliance,
Appurtenance or Fixture

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Drainage Fixture Unit Values

(DFU)

(inch)

Private
Installations

Public
Installations

Bar sink

1 1/2

Bathroom (water closet,

lavatory, bidet and tub or
shower)

Bathtub

1 1/2

Bidet

1 1/4

Minimum Size
Individual Appliance,
Appurtenance or Fixture

Drainage Fixture Unit Values

(DFU)

(inch)

Private
Installations

Public
Installations

Bidet

1 1/2

Clothes Washer

Dishwasher, domestic

1 1/2

Drinking fountain

1 1/4

0.5

0.5

Floor drain

Shower

Laundry tub

1 1/2

Lavatory

1 1/4

Bar sink

1 1/2

Kitchen sink, domestic

1 1/2

Laundry sink

1 1/2

Service or mop basin

Urinal

Water closet with gravity tank

Water closet with flushometer

tank

1 WFSU = 1 GPM = 3.79 liter/min

Note that this conversion is only true for one or a few fixtures. Since the fixtures in a system are
never used all at the same time, the total units (capacity) achieved by adding the numbers for all
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fixtures must be compensated for intermittent use if we want a realistic estimate of the total drainage
load.

Expected Loads in Sanitary Drainage Systems

Calculate expected loads in sanitary drainage systems
The total theoretical load for a sanitary drainage system can be calculated by adding all fixtures
known maximum loads. Due to the nature of intermittent use the number of fixtures will unfortunate
add up to unrealistic loads for the main drainage lines to handle. Realistic loads will always be far
less than the total theoretical loads.
An expected load for a sanitary drainage system can be estimated using the empirical formula like
qet = k ( qn )1/2

(1)

where
qet = expected total drainage load (gpm, l/s)
k = system coefficient describing the nature of the system
qn = total theoretical load - all fixtures summarized (gpm, l/s)
Note that the minimum expected total load can never be less than the load from the largest fixture.
The system coefficient is used to compensate the calculation to the nature of the system. For
systems typical serving large groups of people where the use is intermittent, like

hotels

hospitals

schools

theaters

wardrobes in factories

etc

the coefficient - k - should be in the range 0.5 - 0.8. Closer to 0.8 for smaller systems with few fixtures
and closer to 0.5 for larger systems with many fixtures.
For more ordinary systems where consumption patterns are more continuously like

homes

offices

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nursing homes

the coefficient - k - should be in the range 0.3 - 0.6. Closer to 0.3 for larger systems with many
fixtures and closer to 0.6 for smaller systems with few fixtures.

Example - Sanitary Drainage System Hospital

If the theoretical loads from the fixtures in a smaller hospital adds up to 50 l/s, the expected load can
be estimated to
qet = 0.7 (50 l/s)1/2
= 4.9 l/s
Assuming this is a smaller hospital the coefficient can be set to 0.7.

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