Specification · EC-Water v1

EC-Water v1. The Fathom Assurance readiness standard for preventable water loss.

Draft · public review opens Q1 2026Version 1.0-draft.3 · Last updated 2026-02

EC-Water v1 defines the controls, verification, cadence, and audit trail a property must hold to be considered Fathom Certified for preventable water loss. The standard is designed to be referenced in loan covenants, insurance endorsements, and servicing agreements.

Overview

EC-Water v1 is a property-level readiness specification. It is asset-scoped, not portfolio-scoped, and produces a single verifiable certificate per asset with a defined expiry, exception register, and registry record.

Standard ID

EC-Water

Version

1.0 (draft)

Scope

Multifamily and commercial real estate, U.S.

Issued by

Fathom Assurance

Successor of

None. First public version.

Scope

EC-Water v1 covers preventable, non-weather and freeze-driven interior water loss. It does not cover named-storm flood, sewer backup, or catastrophic perils, which are addressed by sibling standards on the roadmap (EC-Storm, EC-Freeze).

In scope

Plumbing failures, supply-line and appliance leaks, freeze-driven pipe failure mitigation, vacant-unit water exposure, monitoring coverage, shutoff and access readiness, response readiness, vendor coverage.

Out of scope

Named-storm flood, sewer backup, fire suppression discharge, environmental contamination, and acts of war.

Control Domains

The standard evaluates an asset across eight control domains. Each domain has weighted sub-controls; the composite is the WaterScore.

01 · Asset Condition & Exposure

Building age, plumbing material, prior loss history, occupancy and vacancy posture.

02 · Monitoring Coverage

Leak detection placement, sensor health, alerting integration, gap reporting.

03 · Shutoff & Access Readiness

Mapped shutoff locations, accessibility, last-tested date, after-hours access.

04 · Response Readiness

On-call escalation, after-hours coverage, documented runbook, drill cadence.

05 · Vendor Coverage

Pre-engaged plumbers, mitigation vendors, geographic coverage and SLAs.

06 · Tenant & Unit Controls

In-unit shutoffs, supply-line standards, appliance hose program.

07 · Documentation & Evidence

Inspection records, work-order trail, photo evidence, retention.

08 · Exception Handling

Open exceptions, severity, age, remediation SLA adherence.

Verification Levels

EC-Water v1 supports three verification levels. The level achieved is stamped on the certificate and is queryable in the registry.

L1 · Self-attested

Owner or operator attests to controls. Spot audits at registry discretion.

L2 · Reviewed

Fathom Assurance reviews documentation and remote evidence. Required for covenant compliance.

L3 · Third-party verified

Accredited assessor performs on-site verification. Required for highest schedule credit and reinsurance recognition.

Cadence & Exception Triggers

Certificates carry a defined expiry and a set of triggers that require re-certification or open an exception.

Initial certification

Within 180 days of triggering event (origination, refi, renewal, acquisition close).

Annual recertification

At each anniversary, with delta review against prior year evidence.

Triggered re-certification

Material change of use, ownership transfer, occupancy below threshold, post-incident.

Exception SLA

High-severity exceptions remediated within 30 days; medium within 90; low within 180.

Registry Schema

Every certificate is recorded with a stable identifier, queryable by lender, insurer, servicer, and owner. The schema below is normative.

{
  "record_id":        "ec-w-2026-000123",
  "standard":         "EC-Water",
  "version":          "1.0",
  "asset_id":         "string",
  "verification":     "L1" | "L2" | "L3",
  "score":            0-100,
  "status":           "active" | "conditional" | "expired" | "withdrawn",
  "issued_at":        "ISO-8601",
  "expires_at":       "ISO-8601",
  "open_exceptions":  number,
  "issuer":           "Fathom Assurance",
  "registry_url":     "https://registry.exodusassurance.com/<record_id>"
}

Versioning Policy

EC-Water follows semantic versioning at the standard level. Major versions reset certification; minor versions are backward-compatible refinements; patch versions are editorial.

Major (X.0)

Breaking changes to controls, scoring, or verification. Existing certificates remain valid until expiry, then must re-certify to the new major.

Minor (1.X)

Additive controls or evidence requirements. Existing certificates remain valid; new evidence required at next recertification.

Patch (1.0.X)

Editorial corrections. No impact on existing certificates.

Change Log

1.0-draft.3 · 2026-02

Verification levels split into L1/L2/L3. Registry schema externalized. Exception SLA tiers introduced.

1.0-draft.2 · 2025-12

Added Tenant & Unit Controls domain. Tightened vendor coverage definition.

1.0-draft.1 · 2025-10

Initial public draft circulated to design partners under MNDA.

Contact

EC-Water v1 is in public draft. Comments, dissent, and proposed amendments are welcome from lenders, insurers, owners, counsel, and assessors. Submit a comment →

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