Over the past few months, we have received questions about estimating flows for larger system designs. We thought it would be a good idea to explain in a general way some of the approaches to determining design flows for systems that serve multiple residences or establishments, defined as a cluster system.
The definition of “larger” system varies from state to state. In our Minnesota state code, large is defined as having flows between 5,000 and 10,000 gpd. A good case can be made that flows up to 5,000 gpd cover most single residence and small business flows. Flow levels are
