Plumbing codes and water efficiency: What's a water utility to do?

摘要

Plumbing codes are enacted to protect the public's health and safety. In our water-rich past when plumbing codes were enacted or enforced, water efficiency was not a concern. The codes simply ensured that enough water was supplied to fixtures, no matter how much water the fixtures required. Water was once plentiful and cheap, but that is no longer the case. 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. Reducing water demand to reduce the burden on available water supplies is now paramount to the public's health and safety and is an appropriate benefit of plumbing codes.