AWWA COMMENT PERIOD ON AWWA C500, Metal-Seated Gate Valves for Water Supply Service

AWWA COMMENT PERIOD ON AWWA C500, Metal-Seated Gate Valves for Water Supply Service
June 12, 2026

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 July 27, 2026.

Send comments to:
Amanda Dail, ADail@awwa.org
303.734.3466 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 Therefore, this copy is not suitable for continued utilization and is intended only for comment purposes.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 describes iron-body, metal-to-metal seated, nonrising-stem (NRS) gate valves, including tapping gate valves, 3 in. (75 mm) through 72 in. (1,800 mm), and outside screw and yoke (OS&Y) rising-stem gate valves, 3 in. (75 mm) through 72 in. (1,650 mm), with either double-disc gates having parallel or inclined seats, or solid-wedge gates. These valves are suitable for use in approximately level settings within water systems. These valves are intended for applications where fluid velocities do not exceed 16 ft/sec (4.9 m/sec) when the valve is in the fully open position.

MAJOR REVISIONS
Major changes made to the standard in this revision include the following:

1. Added new section II.B.1 Production-testing limitations to the Special Issues section regarding hydrostatic pressure testing of large valves (Foreword, Sec. II.B).
2. Added definitions for Full waterway and Reduced waterway (Sec. 3).
3. Added dezincification testing and depth criteria in accordance with ISO 6509 (Sec. 4.2.4.3.3). Added ISO 6509—Corrosion of Metals and Alloys—Determination of Dezincification Resistance of Copper Alloys With Zinc to References (Sec. 2).
4. Liquid epoxy and fusion bonded epoxy were added to the Coatings section (Sec. 4.2.4.9).
5. Changed Table 10 to Table 1 and deleted previous Table 1. Both referred to stem design torque, but only Table 10 was referenced, making Table 1 irrelevant. Revised the torque values for sizes 36 in. through 72 in. based on a safety factor of 1.5.
6. Revised machined finishes section for body-seat rings so the machining process of back-facing is not required and so threaded attachment to the body does not conflict with subsequent methods for fastening the rings (Sec. 4.4.5.1).
7. Revised materials section for disc-spreading devices so that use of copper alloy does not conflict with subsequent material options. Also added stainless steel (Sec. 4.4.6.1).
8. Added clarifications for handwheels and added allowance for coated steel for handwheels with an outside diameter greater than 16 in. (Sec. 4.4.13).
9. Removed separate pinion of bronze or equivalent for gears and removed ASTM A27 material compliance since gears may be made from wrought material (Sec. 4.4.14).
10. Added new footnote to Table 11 (formerly Table 12) regarding maximum input torque for waterways 54 in. and larger.
11. Added new statement on clean-out ports to Appendix A (Sec. A.6.1).
12. 12. Added new Appendix B, Valve Stem Proof of Design Torque Calculation Method for 36 in and Larger Waterways.