Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications.

Heating and
cooling, waste removal, and potable water delivery are among the most common uses for
plumbing however plumbing's not limited to these applications.[1] Plumbing utilizes pipes,
valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids.[2] Trades that work with
plumbing such as boilermakers, plumbers, and pipefitters are referred to the plumbing trade. In
the Developed world plumbing infrastructure is critical for public health and sanitation.[3][4]
The word derives from the Latin plumbum for lead, as the first effective pipes used in Roman era
were lead pipes.[5]

History
See also: History of plumbing and Sanitation in ancient Rome

Roman lead pipe with a folded seam, at the Roman Baths in Bath, England
Plumbing originated during ancient civilizations such as the Greek, Roman, Persian, Indian, and
Chinese cities as they developed public baths and needed to provide potable water and
wastewater removal, for larger numbers of people.[6] Standardized earthen plumbing pipes with
broad flanges making use of asphalt for preventing leakages appeared in the urban settlements of
the Indus Valley Civilization by 2700 B.C.[7] The Romans used lead pipe inscriptions to prevent
water theft.
Plumbing reached its early apex in ancient Rome, which saw the introduction of expansive
systems of aqueducts, tile wastewater removal, and widespread use of lead pipes. With the Fall
of Rome both water supply and sanitation stagnatedor regressedfor well over 1,000 years.
Improvement was very slow, with little effective progress made until the growth of modern
densely populated cities in the 1800s. During this period, public health authorities began pressing
for better waste disposal systems to be installed, to prevent or control epidemics of disease.
Earlier, the waste disposal system had merely consisted of collecting waste and dumping it on
the ground or into a river. Eventually the development of separate, underground water and
sewage systems eliminated open sewage ditches and cesspools.

Most large cities today pipe solid wastes to sewage treatment plants in order to separate and
partially purify the water, before emptying into streams or other bodies of water. For potable
water use, galvanized iron piping was commonplace in the United States from the late 1800s
until around 1960. After that period, copper piping took over, first soft copper with flared
fittings, then with rigid copper tubing utilizing soldered fittings.
The use of lead for potable water declined sharply after World War II because of increased
awareness of the dangers of lead poisoning. At this time, copper piping was introduced as a
better and safer alternative to lead pipes.[8][9]

Systems

Copper piping system in a building

The major categories of plumbing systems or subsystems are:[10]

potable cold and hot tap water supply

plumbing drainage venting

sewage systems and septic systems with or without hot water heat recycling and
graywater recovery and treatment systems

Rainwater, surface, and subsurface water drainage[relevant? discuss]

fuel gas piping

hydronics, i.e. heating and cooling systems utilizing water to transport thermal energy, as
in district heating systems, like for example the New York City steam system.

History
Main article: History of water supply and sanitation

An original Roman lead pipe with a folded seam, at the Roman Baths in Bath, UK

Old water pipe, remnant of the Machine de Marly near Versailles, France

For many centuries, lead was the favoured material for water pipes, because its malleability
made it practical to work into the desired shape. (Such use was so common that the word
"plumbing" derives from plumbum, the Latin word for lead.) This was a source of lead-related
health problems in the years before the health hazards of ingesting lead were fully understood;
among these were stillbirths and high rates of infant mortality. Lead water pipes were still widely
used in the early 20th century, and remain in many households. In addition, lead-tin alloy solder
was commonly used to join copper pipes, but modern practice uses tin-antimony alloy solder
instead, in order to eliminate lead hazards.[11]
Despite the Romans' common use of lead pipes, their aqueducts rarely poisoned people. Unlike
other parts of the world where lead pipes cause poisoning, the Roman water had so much
calcium in it that a layer of plaque prevented the water contacting the lead itself. What often
causes confusion is the large amount of evidence of widespread lead poisoning, particularly
amongst those who would have had easy access to piped water.[12] This was an unfortunate result
of lead being used in cookware and as an additive to processed food and drink, for example as a
preservative in wine.[13] Roman lead pipe inscriptions provided information on the owner to
prevent water theft.

Wooden pipes were used in London and elsewhere during the 16th and 17th centuries. The pipes
were hollowed-out logs, which were tapered at the end with a small hole in which the water
would pass through.[14] The multiple pipes were then sealed together with hot animal fat. They
were often used in Montreal and Boston in the 1800s, and built-up wooden tubes were widely
used in the USA during the 20th century. These pipes, used in place of corrugated iron or
reinforced concrete pipes, were made of sections cut from short lengths of wood. Locking of
adjacent rings with hardwood dowel pins produced a flexible structure. About 100,000 feet of
these wooden pipes were installed during WW2 in drainage culverts, storm sewers and conduits,
under highways and at army camps, naval stations, airfields and ordnance plants.
Cast iron and ductile iron pipe was long a lower-cost alternative to copper, before the advent of
durable plastic materials but special non-conductive fittings must be used where transitions are to
be made to other metallic pipes, except for terminal fittings, in order to avoid corrosion owing to
electrochemical reactions between dissimilar metals (see galvanic cell).[15]
Bronze fittings and short pipe segments are commonly used in combination with various
materials.[16]
History of plumbing and its meaning today
Roman aqueduct at Pont du Gard France (iStockphoto.com/Stephen Finn)

American plumbers have accomplished more in two centuries than the Romans did
in 10. Now their works are in danger of falling apart.

When it comes to plumbing history, all roads surely do lead to Rome. Plumbing technology
flourished during the Roman Empire in a way that wasn't duplicated for more than 1,000 years.
The ancient Romans were the best plumbers who ever lived, except for American plumbers of
the 19th and 20th centuries. Rome's sanitary drainage systems were the best the world had seen
until the 1800s in America. Their public baths stand as marvels of engineering genius and
craftsmanship in any age. Some aqueducts they built 2,000 years ago are still in use today. Rome
spread this plumbing knowledge and technology to numerous conquered lands.
The Roman Empire doesn't come off very well in Cecil B. DeMille movies. The verdict of
history judges it guilty of much tyranny throughout its 1,000-year reign. But gee whiz, those
guys sure were competent!
As has happened so often in ancient and recent history alike, an objectionable regime was
replaced by a ruling order that proved incomparably worse. Rome's brutal ways were like puppy
kisses next to the wantonness of their barbarian conquerors. Worst of all, the bloodthirsty tribes

that dominated Europe after the fall of Rome brought no compensating good to offset their
savagery.
No art, literature or technology. No tradition of democracy and debate. No knowledge of and
appreciation for sanitary plumbing. Western civilization sank into a squalor of ignorance and
disease that lasted as long as the Roman Empire, and wasn't completely overcome until the 20th
century.
Great progress, then stark digression, each lasting about a millennium, is the grand historical
overview of Western civilization. The history of plumbing parallels it epoch by epoch.
Beginning with the Renaissance, Western man - and plumbing - began to emerge from the
cultural sinkhole of the Dark and Middle Ages.
Redevelopment went slowly for several hundred years, then accelerated like a rocket. The
symbol of a rocket, in fact, conjures up one of the most incredible bursts of progress - going from
the Wright brothers to space flight in little more than half a century.
Meanwhile, here on earth, American plumbers of the last 200 years have done an equally
miraculous job eradicating disease, increasing life-spans and providing comfort and convenience
for rich and poor alike. This feat deserves much more than the passing mention, if that, it
receives in history books.
Schoolbook History
History as we were taught it in our school days was mostly about monarchs and
military leaders. Their conquests and defeats are portrayed as the epic events that
shaped the world we live in today.

All true, I suppose, but also somewhat misleading. Like scriptwriters for TV cop shows,
historians tend to let rare moments of action obscure the mundane realities of everyday life. For
instance, we all know of the great battles of the American Civil War and their terrible casualties.
What's not so widely known is that typhoid, dysentery and cholera killed twice as many soldiers
as all that blood-curdling combat.
Wars, revolutions and assassinations have indeed changed the course of history. But so have the
bacteria that have been tamed by modern plumbers.
William the Conqueror, victor at the Battle of Hastings and forefather of modern Britain, died in
1087 from what sketchy historical writings suggest may have been typhoid fever. In 1861, Prince
Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, succumbed to the same disease. In between,

English history further records two Roman-numeraled Edwards, a John and a Henry among the
royal toll from sanitation-related diseases, and who knows how many more went undiagnosed or
unreported. For that matter, who knows how many would-be leaders of the world fell victim
while still princelings and lieutenants.
We're referring to some of the world's wealthiest, most powerful royalty. These were people
provided with the best of everything. Today's museums display some of their solid gold
chamberpots.
Little did they realize that a crude flush toilet would have been much more valuable. And if even
monarchs suffered from poor sanitation, think how bleak life must have been for the unwashed
masses who, as the common refrain goes, had nary a pot to pee in!
Modern Heroes
We can get an inkling from Dr. Lewis Thomas, Chancellor of the Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center in New York City and one of the world's most renowned
immunologists. An article he published in the Spring 1984 edition of Foreign Affairs,
"Scientific Frontiers and National Frontiers: A Look Ahead," argued the need for
global cooperation in science and technology. One of his key points was to criticize
our country's policy of building high-tech medical facilities in underdeveloped
countries. What would benefit the Third World much more, he pointed out, is decent
plumbing.

"There is no question that our health has improved spectacularly in the past century," wrote Dr.
Thomas.
"One thing seems certain: it did not happen because of medicine, or medical science, or even the
presence of doctors.
"Much of the credit should go to the plumbers and engineers of the Western world. The
contamination of drinking water by human feces was at one time the single greatest cause of
human disease and death for us; it remains so, along with starvation and malaria, for the Third
World. Typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery were the chief threats to survival in the early years
of the nineteenth century in New York City, and when the plumbers and sanitary engineers had
done their work these diseases began to vanish."
The average American lifespan has increased by several decades since the days of our founding
fathers. By the time standards of history, this is a blink of the eye. It is startling to realize that
many senior citizens living today grew up without indoor plumbing, and are only a few
generations removed from the epidemics referred to by Dr. Thomas.

Yet, today in America, it is unthinkable to a person of even modest means to buy a home without
at least one indoor toilet and bathing unit.
We assume clean drinking water and safe, sight-unseen waste disposal in every private and
public building. We take for granted the sanitation, hygiene and convenience provided by indoor
bathrooms, and are now concerned with their decorative aspects.
I began this essay paying tribute to Roman mastery of the plumbing craft. But they had 10
centuries to hone their skills. The great American plumbers accomplished even more in about a
fifth of the time.
Unfortunately, these gains are in danger of disappearing even faster.
Falling Apart
The best plumbing systems in the history of mankind are in need of billions of
dollars' worth of repair, replacement and additions.

The Associated General Contractors of America estimates that our country needs to invest almost
$3.3 trillion - with a "t" - in infrastructure projects over the next 20 years. Of that total, some
$815 billion, more $40 billion a year, is pegged for potable water, wastewater treatment and
drainage improvements.
AGC is part of a coalition called "Rebuild America," comprised of 10 other construction industry
groups and associations of public officials.
The figures just cited are from an alarming report they produced that tells how our nation's
infrastructure is aging and degrading to the point of danger.
Make that past the point of danger. It has been estimated that a quarter of our nation's bridges are
unsafe. Upwards of 4,000 are closed and a lot more probably should be. More than 100 collapse
every year, though we only hear of the ones that drop unsuspecting motorists to their deaths.
Deterioration of underground sewers and water mains is not as visible but no less real. The
pipelines serving our older cities were installed well over a century ago. Rebuild America reports
that leaky pipes cause some major cities to lose as much as 30 percent of their fresh water supply
each day. They say we'll need to spend $7.1 billion a year over the next 20 years to repair and
improve our potable water supply lines, and another $6 billion annually for drainage work.
That's the good news! The bad is that some $553 billion will be needed over the next two
decades to finance wastewater treatment plants.
Even that pales beside the $1.6 trillion, $65.5 billion annually, required to fix up U. S. highways.

Out Of Mind
Our deficit-ridden federal budget can't satisfy all the big-ticket demands placed
upon it, but in this matter, do we have a choice? No matter how strapped your
household budget might be, you would figure out a way to finance repairs if your
toilet stopped flushing or the water coming out of your faucet turned purple. It's a
matter of what's important - "prioritizing," as they say in bureaucratease.

The title of the report put out by the Rebuild America Coalition is "Making America's Economy
Competitive Again." They make the case that spending on infrastructure is an investment as
opposed to an expenditure. They city economic thinkers from the ancient Greeks to Adam Smith
to John Kenneth Galbraith in arguing that public works are critical for, in Smith's words,
"facilitating the commerce of the society." They argue, for instance, that billions of dollars, and
billions of gallons of fuel, are wasted each year due to transportation delays and restrictions
caused by faulty roads and bridges, along with considerable vehicle damage.
And how's this for an anecdotal grabber - a worker tied up for 10 minutes each way in rush hour
will waste nearly two working years of time fighting traffic in a 45-year job career!
These alarms all ring true, but nothing happens. Our crumbling infrastructure is not even on the
map as an issue in this presidential election year, and it can't be blamed entirely on the money
crunch. The politicians aren't afraid to come out in favor of spending zillions for Star Wars, or
universal housing and health care, or various other grandiose and/or (depending on your point of
view) worthwhile programs.
Nor are they averse to public works expenditures. The pork barrel bursts open every election
year. It's just that the spending tends to go for new buildings and other structures that are
prominent and sleek and shiny - and sometimes named after their political sponsors. Fixing
something up is not as sexy as erecting something new. No politician has a sewer system named
after him or her, and most no doubt would decline the honor if it were offered. That which is out
of sight is out of mind, absent from our trivial public policy debates.
Save Your Legacy
This is not a happy state of affairs in the 212th year of the United States of America.

History shows us quite vividly that nothing lasts forever - not the Roman Empire, not the
standards of sanitation and hygiene they engendered. Nor will the robust health and safety of the
American people outlast the plumbing and piping systems that are largely responsible.
What the American plumbing industry has accomplished in the last couple of centuries will cause
historians of the future to marvel, just as we do over the ruins and artifacts of the Roman Empire.

Unless we put some pressure on our elected officials, ruins and artifacts will be all that's left of
our industry's glorious legacy.

History of Plumbing Practice of the Philippines

The birth of the plumbing profession in the Philippines is traced back to the 17th
century. The WALLED CITY known as Intramuros was established by the Spaniards
as a model community. The Friar Engineers who built the government buildings,
residential and other structures, incorporated European standards in their plumbing
installations. During the 18
th
and 19
th
centuries, the Filipino plumbers were assigned the task of maintaining, repairing
and/or remodelling plumbing systems in all "pueblos" or towns including churches,
convents and government buildings. The recognized plumbers then were called
upon by the ''ilustrados" or the elite group to act as consultants of plumber
journeymen on matters pertaining to plumbing installations in villas and mansions.
PLUMBING took a great leap at the turn of the 20
th
century with the arrival of the American soldiers, engineers, Thomasite teachers,
doctors and evangelists. Health and hygiene became priority when epidemics
including cholera, leprosy. schistosomiasis and other contagious diseases engulfed

the Philippines. Alarmed, Governor General Harrison issued a letter of instruction on

proper waste disposal in all municipalities. Sometime in 1902, the PLUMBING TRADE
was duly recognized by the government. The City of Manila was the model
community. Master Plumber John F. Hass became the first Chief of the Division of
Plumbing Construction and Inspection. Through the initiative of the Filipino Master
Plumbers, a plumbing code based on the Plumbing Code of the United States was
incorporated into the Building Code for the City of Manila. In 1935, Francisco
Geronimo, Mariano de Ocampo, Igmidio Suarez, Eusebio Mina Jose Rivera,
Raymundo Reyes, Sr., Roberto Feliciano, Gregorio Lazaro, Raymundo Gumapac, John
Jones, Trinitario Ortiz, Valentin Casupanan, Catalino Casupanan. Crispin Francisco,
Teodoro Pastor, Cornelio Odvina and Jesus Tanghal Dera organized the National
Master Plumbers Association of the Philippines (NAMPAP) and had it registered with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Initiated by NAMPAP, the Department of
Public Services of the City of Manila was created by an Act of Congress. City
Ordinance 2411, otherwise known as "the Plumbing Code for the City of Manila" was
enacted in consultation with NAMPAP. The practice of plumbing was eventually
placed under the Department of Public Services, Manila.

The National Government, through the Bureau of Public Works, and other cities and
municipalities adopted the Plumbing Code of Manila. NAMPAP spearheaded the
enactment of a law regulating the practice of master plumbing in the Philippines. In
1954, the Third Congress of the Republic of the Philippines in its Second Session,
approved after the third reading House Bill No. 962. This became Republic Act
No.l378. On June 18, 1955, R.A. 1378, otherwise known as the "PLUMBING LAW OF
THE PHILIPPINES" was signed by President Ramon Magsaysay. On January 28, 1959,
the National Plumbing Code of the Philippines prepared by the NAMPAP was
promulgated and approved by Malacanang. NAMPAP also assisted in the passage of
the law creating the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA). In
1966-1969, the Board of Examiners for Master Plumbers and the NAMPAP prepared
a Curriculum for Plumbing Engineering that was approved by the Department of
Education and was first introduced at the Feati University. On November 28, 1967,
the First Amendment to the National Plumbing Code was approved, which effected
the inclusion of "Asbestos Cement Pipe" as an approved plumbing material. Before
Martial Law in 1972, Republic Act No. 6541 otherwise known as the
Building Code of the Philippines wa
s passed with the "National Plumbing Code of 1959" as referral code in full text. In
1996, NAMPAP President JAIME M. CABASE spearheaded the updating of the Revised
National Plumbing Code. Finally, in October 1999, NAMPAP submitted the Draft Code

to the Board of Master Plumbers (BoMP) Chaired by Engr. FORTUNATO H. AMOSCO.

After careful review, the Professional Regulation Commission under Chairman
HERMOGENES POBRE adopted the Revised Plumbing Code of 1999 which His
Excellency, President JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA approved last December 21, 1999
pursuant to Section 4 of R.A. 1378 known as the Plumbing Law. In order to
continuously upgrade the technical expertise of Master Plumbers and propagate the
growth of the plumbing industry; NAMPAP have caused the holding of regular
National Convention as well as Regional Conferences such as LUZON, VISAYAS and
MINDANAO, as well as the Midyear Forum where manufacturers, dealers and
suppliers of plumbing tools, equipment, materials and services are given the
opportunity to conduct product presentations for the benefit of the plumbing
practitioners

Republic Act No. 1378 An Act To Regulate the Trade Of Master Plumbing
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled: Section 1.
This Act shall be known as the Plumbing Law.
Section 2. (a) The practice of plumbing within the meaning and intent of this Act
shall embrace services in the form of consultations, designing, preparations of
plans, specifications; estimates, erection, installation and supervision of plumbing
work including the inspection and acceptance of materials used therein; extension
and alteration of all pipings to fixtures, appliances, appurtenances in connection
with any of the following: storm and sanitary drainage, facilities of buildings, the
sanitary venting of fixtures, hot or cold water supply systems within or adjacent to
any building, storm drains, sewerage system of any premises and/or in connection
with any public disposal or any acceptable terminal. The enumeration in this
paragraph shall not be construed as excluding any other work requiring plumbing
knowledge and application. (b) The
term master

plumber as used in this Act shall mean a person duly registered with the Board
of Examiners for Master Plumbers in the manner as hereinafter provided. Section 3.
Within thirty days after the approval of this Act, there shall be created a Board of
Examiners for Master Plumbers, hereinafter referred to as the Board, to be

composed of a Chairman and two members who shall be appointed by the President
of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Civil Service in
consultation with a duly registered national association of master plumbers. The
members of the Board shall hold office for a term of three years. The first members
of the Board appointed under this Act shall hold office for the following terms: One
member for one year; one member for two years; and one member for three years.
Each member of the Board shall qualify by taking the proper oath of office before
entering upon the performance of his duties. Any member of the Board may be
removed by the President of the Philippines for neglect of duty, in competency,
malpractice, and unprofessional, unethical, immoral, or dishonorable conduct, after
said member has been given opportunity to defend himself in an administrative
investigation duly held. Vacancies in the Board shall be filled for the unexpired term.
Section 4. The Board shall administer the provisions of this Act; issue, suspend or
revoke certificates of registration of master plumbers; and administer oaths in
connection with such certificates of registration. In carrying into effect the
provisions of this Act, the Board may, under the hands of its chairman and the seal
of the Board, issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum, to compel the attendance
of witnesses and require the production of books, documents, and similar evidence
in a case involving violation of any of the provisions of this Act. Any member of the
Board may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before it. If any
person shall refuse to obey any subpoena or subpoena duces tecum so issued, or
shall refuse to testify or produce any book, record or document, the Board may
present its petition to the Court of First Instance, setting forth the facts, and
thereupon such court shall, in

a proper case, issue its subpoena to such person, requiring his appearance before
such court and there to testify or produce such books, records or documents, as
may be deemed necessary and pertinent by the Board. Any person failing or
refusing to obey the subpoena or subpoena duces tecum or order of the said court
may be proceeded against in the same manners as for refusal to obey any other
subpoena or subpoena duces tecum or order of the court. The Board shall, from
time to time, look into conditions affecting the trade of master plumber in the
Philippines and whenever necessary, recommend to the President of the Philippines
the adoption of such rules and regulations as may be deemed proper for the
maintenance of good ethics and standards in the trade and for the protection of the
public welfare, life, health, and property. Section 5. The President of the Philippines
is hereby authorized to issue rules and regulations to carry into effect the objectives
of this Act, upon recommendation of the Board of Examiners for Master Plumbers
and in consultation with a duly registered national association of master plumbers
,in accordance with the following basic principles, except in cases where it may
prove oppressive or excessively burdensome to those without sufficient means and
to such buildings, structures or constructions valued at five thousand pesos or less:

a. All premises intended for human habitation, occupancy, or use shall be provided
with a supply of pure and wholesome water, neither connected with unsafe water
supplies nor subject to the hazards of backflow or back siphonage. b. Plumbing
fixtures, devices all appurtenances shall be supplied with water in sufficient volume
and at pressures adequate to enable them to function satisfactorily and without
undue noise under all normal conditions of use. c. Plumbing shall be designed and
adjusted to use the minimum quantity of water consistent with proper performance
and cleaning. d. Devices for heating and storing water shall be so designed and
installed as to prevent dangers from explosion through overheating. e. Every
building having plumbing fixtures installed and intended for human habitation,
occupancy, or use on premises abutting on a street, alley, or easement in which
there is a public sewer shall have a connection with the sewer. f. Each family
dwelling unit on premises abutting on sewer or with a private sewerage-disposal
system shall have, at least, one water closet and one kitchen-type sink. It is further
recommended that a lavatory and bathtub or shower shall be installed to meet the
basic requirements of sanitation and personal hygiene. All other structures for
human occupancy or use on premises abutting on a sewer or with a private sewagedisposal system shall have adequate sanitary facilities but in no case less than one
water closet and one other fixture for cleaning purposes.