March 11th is World Plumbing Day.
Many people in developed countries throughout the world take plumbing for granted. They simply turn on a tap or faucet and obtain clean water. Flushing toilets are standard in many countries. However, little thought is given to the engineering expertise provided by plumbers that ensures these systems operate as intended. Equally, few people appreciate the consequences of bad plumbing systems.
In developing countries on the other hand, plumbing is either non existent or at best very basic. People suffer serious health consequences, and millions of people die as a result of lack of access to clean water and in effective sanitation.
According to the World Health Organization:
- 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe water supplies
- 2.6 billion people do not have access to improved sanitation
- 3.1 million children die each year from water related diseases
Effective plumbing systems would improve all of these statistics.
Plumbing deserves to be recognized and respected, and for that reason the World Plumbing Council (established in 1990 and recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in official relations with the World Health Organization) has created World Plumbing Day (on 11 March each year) as a means of highlighting the important role played by today’s plumbing industry.
Learn more at www.worldplumbingday.org