AWWA COMMENT PERIOD ON AWWA C203, Coal-Tar Protective Coatings and Linings for Steel Water Pipe and Fittings

AWWA COMMENT PERIOD ON AWWA C203, Coal-Tar Protective Coatings and Linings for Steel Water Pipe and Fittings
July 25, 2025

AWWA solicits public comments on all proposed new AWWA Standards, and on all proposed revisions, reaffirmations, or withdrawals of existing AWWA Standards. The referenced standards project is being considered for approval and the publication of this notice begins the 45-day public comment period for AWWA and ANSI. An electronic public review copy of the proposed standard can be obtained for review during the comment period by emailing ETS Support (ETSsupport@awwa.org). Comments must be submitted in writing to the AWWA contact listed below no later than the last day of the comment period specified herein. Such comments shall be specific to the section(s) of the standard under review and include sufficient detail, so as to enable the reader to understand the commenter’s position, concerns and suggested alternative language, if appropriate.

AWWA Comment Period closes on September 8, 2025.

Send comments to:
Liz Ralph, LRalph@awwa.org
303.347.6177 phone

The review copy will be edited for publication and may also be revised as appropriate based on any comments received during the public comment period. Therefore, this copy is not suitable for continued utilization and is intended only for comment purposes.

Final publication of the standard may take several months. When it is available, a notice will be published in the official notice section of Journal – American Water Works Association. The standard becomes an effective AWWA standard on the first day of the month following such publication in Journal – American Water Works Association.

SCOPE
This standard provides the minimum requirements for coal-tar protective coatings and  linings systems used in the water supply industry for buried steel water pipe and fittings.

MAJOR REVISIONS
Major revisions made to the standard in this edition include the following:

1. Updated Sec. I.C. Acceptance in the Foreword with the latest Standards Council language reflecting the addition of reference to NSF/ANSI/CAN 372 and NSF/ANSI/CAN 600.
2. Updated title of standard and Sec. 1.1 to include fittings. Fittings were a part of the standard, but not included in the title or scope.
3. Added Sec. 1.1.2 Conditions not described in this standard.
4. Added Sec. 1.1.3 Other substrates to discuss considerations when C203 is referenced for substrates other than carbon steel.
5. Updated Sec 3 Definitions to remove blasting and day, and add reclaimed water, supplier, and wastewater.
6. Updated Sec. 4.2.1 Materials with the latest Standards Council boilerplate language and added additional information for wastewater applications.
7. Updated Sec. 4.2.2 Certification to include reference to NSF/ANSI/CAN 600.
8. Deleted service temperature limitations from Table 1 since they are described in Sec. 1.1 Scope and to be consistent with other coating and lining standards.
9. Revised Sec. 4.3.2 Shelf life.
10. Updated Sec. 4.4 and 4.9 (Surface Preparation) and revised to have a similar format to other coating and lining standards.
11. Reorganized and updated Sec. 5 Verification to have similar information and formatting as other coating and lining standards.
12. Deleted previous Sec. 5.2 Electrical inspection since it is now covered more generally in Sec.5.5.2.
13. Reorganized and updated Sec. 6 Delivery to have similar information and formatting as other coating and lining standards.