The Importance of Plumbing Moving Society Forward

Community’s Water Source Humans require potable water to survive More people in a community requires more clean water for drinking, cooking and bathing Waste water must not contaminate the potable water Photo courtesy of UNICEF

Water – A Precious Commodity 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water Only 2.5% is Fresh Water Only 0.77% is easily available as Potable Water There is the same water on the earth as at the time of the dinosaurs. Of this 2.5%, it is inaccessible (glaciers or too deep for wells), in remote areas, arrives in the wrong time and place (monsoons & floods), so available water actually is less than .08% with demand expected in increase 40.5% in next 20 years. Increasingly the fresh water that is available is being diminished by pollution. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demand_for_water UN Water for Life Source: UTEP

Plumbing Systems The advent of plumbing systems allowed people to live together in larger communities as fresh water could easily come in and waste water was removed. Little consideration was given to the community downstream Water pipe made from lead in Pompeii ruins

More People = More Human Waste Outhouses or Privies used to be the norm Improvements in plumbing allowed for many waterborne diseases to be controlled by removing the contaminated water from the potable water

Modern Plumbing Indoor Plumbing Systems Bring clean water

Modern Plumbing Indoor Plumbing Systems Bring clean water Carry away waste water and clean it before it is returned to the environment

Historical Plumbing Innovations Wooden Toilet High Tank Toilet Terra Cotta Bathtub from Palace of King Minos, circa 1700 BC

Historical Plumbing Innovations Taps or Faucets on Left 1920’s Bathroom on Right Graphic courtesy of American Standard Brands

Increased Life Expectancy Reduced infant mortality Adults live longer Better sanitation creates better hygiene, which allows children to remain healthier and attend schools regularly Many gains from the Industrial Revolution of the 1800’s can be attributed to a healthier population

Increased Life Expectancy Age Prior to 1900, infant mortality rates of two and three hundred per thousand obtained throughout the world. The infant mortality rate would fluctuate sharply according to the weather, the harvest, war, and epidemic disease. In severe times, a majority of infants would die within one year. In good times, perhaps two hundred per thousand would die. So great was the pre-modern loss of children's lives that anthropologists claim to have found groups that do not name children until they have survived a year.  The early part of the Industrial Revolution may have exacerbated these conditions. Housing in factory cities was crowded, dirty, unheated, and unventilated. Food supplies were unreliable, impure, and so narrowly based as to cause nutrition problems. Diseases were untreatable, sometimes even unrecognized. Without a germ theory of disease, people did not take precautions to prevent the spread of infections.  But the Industrial Revolution contained the seeds of a complete reversal of the infant mortality rate. By the 1880s, "progressives" were spreading doctrines of cleanliness. Sewers were being installed in the cities.  By the early decades of the 1900s, a wide range of improvements begin the drive the infant mortality rate down. Central heating meant that infants were no longer were exposed to icy drafts for hours. Clean drinking water eliminated a common path of infection. More food meant healthier infants and mothers. Better hygiene eliminated another path of infection. Cheaper clothing meant better clothing on infants. More babies were born in hospitals, which were suddenly being cleaned up as the infectious nature of dirt became clear. Later in the century, antibiotics and vaccinations join the battle.  The infant mortality rate started a long slide from 165 per 1,000 in 1900 to 7 per 1,000 in 1997.  The health of older children also improved. Diseases that had carried off thousands of children in 1900 were practically eliminated by 2000: diphtheria, and pertussis measles. Life expectancy is the average number of years that a person would live if he or she experienced the age-specific death rates that occurred at a particular point in time. As death rates decline, life expectancy increases. Life expectancy at birth is very sensitive to reductions in the death rates of children, because each child that survives adds many years to the amount of life in the population. Thus, the dramatic declines in infant and child mortality in the twentieth century were accompanied by equally stunning increases in life expectancy. Source: pbs.org Gale Encyclopedia of US History: Life Expectancy CDC. "Ten Great Public Health Achievements—United States, 1900–1999." Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 48 (1999): 241–243. Crimmins, Eileen M., Yasuhiko Saito, and Dominique Ingegneri. "Trends in Disability-Free Life Expectancy in the United States, 1970–90." Population and Development Review 23 (1997): 555–572. Hacker, David J. "Trends and Determinants of Adult Mortality in Early New England." Social Science History 21 (1997): 481–519. Kunitz, Stephen J. "Mortality Change in America, 1620–1929." Human Biology 56 (1984): 559–582. Leavitt, Judith Walzer, and Ronald L. Numbers, eds. Sickness and Health in America: Readings in the History of Medicine and Public Health. 3d ed. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997. Vinovskis, Maris A. "The 1789 Life Table of Edward Wiggles-worth." Journal of Economic History 31 (1971): 570–590. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/life-expectancy#ixzz1CurZtMZh Source: US Center for Disease Control

Natural Disasters Show Importance of Plumbers Infrastructure Big Underground Fresh Water Pipes Waste Treatment Facilities Salt Water Contamination of Fresh Water In Home/Schools/Businesses Broken Water Pipes Broken Gas Lines Broken Sewer Lines The Tsunami in Japan took away instantly all of the capabilities for fresh water distribution and waste removal. A highly developed society was brought back to the turn of the 19th century. In Haiti earthquake, already inadequate infrastructure was damaged and fresh water was unavailable. Additional measures had to be taken to dispose of human waste with the brakes in the sanitation system. In most cases, the pipes are rigid and cannot take the stresses of the seismic activity, they would either break at the connections or even in the middle of the pipes.

There are many different types of Plumbers Highly skilled trades people Contractors install pipes and fixtures Engineers design the projects to ensure correct water pressure and volume flow Inspectors make sure it is done correctly

World’s Most Famous Plumber Nintendo game character Mario is known by many children but not all may be aware that he is an Italian Plumber. Mario celebrated his 25th anniversary in 2010. ®

World Plumbing Day Plumbing Benefits Everyone March 11, Every Year, Everywhere