Share the Joy of Access to Water

By Rebecca West
President of the Water Environment Federation

Hello WEF members and other waterbloggers! I just got back from a trip to Kenya (traveling for personal business, not as a WEF representative), where every day was a reminder that although access to water is an absolute necessity, it’s not a given in many places. For example, due to the lack of or intermittent rainfall, many people and communities had to locate the closest available water and go get it for daily living. In fact, this picture
shows villagers pulling water from a neighboring rainwater collection tank to provide access to water in their area.

I’d go even further and say access to water is a right to which every person on this planet is entitled. And we as water quality professionals understand the challenges to providing clean water worldwide complicated by factors like population growth and climate change. At the Water Environment Federation, we embrace a technical commitment to clean water, and it can be put to good use through special partnerships that offer WEF members opportunities to apply their expertise in ways that make a difference. Engineers Without Borders and Water for People, a WEF charity of choice, are just two organizations of many that would put your own time or financial contributions to further ensure people across our blue planet can gain access to water and sanitation.

So this holiday season, I ask you to support an organization that works to provide global access to water and sanitation and share the joy of access to water and protection of their health through access to sanitation with those less fortunate. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate the abundance we have and underscore the importance of extending this very basic right to those less fortunate. Meanwhile, thanks for all you do to protect public health and the environment every day and very best wishes for peace and happiness in the coming year.

Protecting Our Purple Pipes

By Don Vandertulip, PE
Chair, WEF Water Reuse Committee

I’ll start at the beginning of this important issue, which is ultimately about organizations working together to protect public health and sustainable water supplies. Purple is the standard color for pipe adopted by the international utility industry to distribute municipally treated reclaimed water. In late June 2008, a question was raised alerting water reuse professionals to a proposed plumbing code that would require use of purple pipe for all graywater systems. The proposal was embedded in updates to the 2009 Uniform Plumbing Code under final development by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and the indication was all reuse organizations had approved it. IAPMO used the Canadian CSA B128 Design and Installation of NonPotable Systems as a guide to coordinate with international standards.

Utility members and reuse professionals at the Water Environment Association (WEF), the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the WateReuse Association (WRA) were not aware of this proposed change, and they responded—along with several state health departments—based on a three-decade history of distributing high-quality reclaimed water through purple pipe and gaining public support for highly treated reclaimed water. Their concerns included:

• Potential cross connections between two purple pipe systems with significantly different quality;


• The public could be exposed to inadequately treated water in a municipal purple pipe system contaminated by an on-site cross connection; and,


• Public exposure and cross connections would negatively impact public confidence in the municipal reclaimed water system.

Based on this feedback, a joint letter signed by Executive Directors of WEF, AWWA, and WRA was submitted to IAPMO on September 24, 2008. I believe this letter represents the first letter endorsed by the three organizations in a common effort to eliminate a public health threat. In a separate action, Florida Department of Health (FDEP) sent a letter protesting the proposed Code.

Discussions at WEFTEC.08 among representatives of IAPMO and all three water groups regarding Code revision revealed that the issue included not only on-site graywater systems but also other sources of alternate water to include rainwater harvested water, stormwater, and air conditioning condensate and showed that other entities unfamiliar with reclaimed water production might influence its use, distribution, and quality.

Based on all of the input they received, IAPMO formed a Task Group to review the proposed code requirements and to develop alternative code requirements acceptable to plumbing code inspectors and municipal utility providers. I was appointed to this committee to represent WEF and WRA, while Alan Rimer, Chair of the AWWA Water Reuse Committee will represent AWWA.

The bottom line is that technical solutions will be developed for consideration by both reclaimed water utility interests and plumbing code enforcement officials. Water utilities and professionals have done a good job of “branding” purple pipe and educating constituents within the immediate service area about the value of reclaimed water use to the community. It is now apparent that water professionals, utilities, and state health departments must become more involved with local, state and national building code development to ensure that highly treated reclaimed water protects public health and guards against public exposure to inadequately treated alternate waters originating from on-site treatment units. I believe this increased involvement should include:

• Improved communications between IAPMO and professionals from the water field by providing technical presentations to educate each other about their respective approaches to public health;


• Improved education within our own house-including utility, health and environmental department professionals so we can recognize well-intended efforts by others that may impact the value of our purple pipe liquid assets;


• Evaluation, by utilities, of state and local regulations that may be in conflict with the Plumbing Codes adopted by the local communities and direct communication with the state entities to provide clear regulations protective of public health without causing regulatory conflict; and,


• Identification of additional common code/public health concerns related to use of non-potable water on property also served with potable water that should be mutually addressed.

The IAPMO Task Group and greater utility awareness are good starts. It is incumbent on all water utility professionals to work toward improved recognition of design controls and regulations that are supportive of public health and sustainable water supply solutions. Meanwhile, I’d invite you to visit www.iapmo.org to learn more about this important code development organization and watch for further developments as we all work together for a cleaner environment.