AWWA JAW66943

Plumbing codes are enacted to protect the public's health and safety. The growing water supply-demand crisis in the United States and across the globe now requires that plumbing codes not impede and even support water efficiency standards, regulations, and community conservation efforts. Of interest to any water utility is the fact that some plumbing codes conflict with water efficiency, and these codes are impeding their ability to implement demand management. Utility managers have the ability to enact plumbing code changes in their service territory. Such plumbing codes must be amended at the local level because the amendment process by the model code agencies will not affect local plumbing codes until after 2011. Water utilities need to take action with local code enforcement jurisdictions to ensure that the plumbing codes do not conflict with the growing demand for water conservation.