In light of World Plumbing Day on March 11, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recognizes the importance of the plumbing profession, and pays tribute to the ongoing standards development work that helps support the international sanitation community—and the millions of people whose health and safety depend on plumbing around the world.
Recognizing Innovations to Protect Public Health
An initiative created by the World Plumbing Council in 2009, World Plumbing Day aims to spread awareness by recognizing innovative plumbing advancements that protect public health and improve the world.
From the farmers that need water to grow food, to populations that depend on running water to drink and wash their hands to prevent diseases, plumbing affects the entire planet.
Lack of basic plumbing leads to lowered living standards and many serious health consequences. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 2.1 billion (three in 10) people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water at home. In 2022, a UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLASS) report revealed that action is needed globally and locally to achieve safe and sustainably managed water, sanitation, and hygiene for all in order to prevent devastating impacts on the health of millions of people.
The World Plumbing Council highlights several innovations that help the environment, including:
ANSI in Action: Supports Efforts to Improve Global Sanitation
ANSI supports work to improve sanitation through ongoing collaborative efforts. In February, ANSI, with partners Association Senegalaise de Normalization (ASN) and TÜV SÜD, hosted a joint technical session in West Africa on “Transferring innovative sanitation technologies to implementation/adoption through standards and certification.” The session promotes non-sewered sanitation system standards, particularly ISO 30500, Non-sewered sanitation systems — Prefabricated integrated treatment units — General safety and performance requirements for design and testing.
For several years, ANSI has supported the national adoption of ISO 30500 in Africa and Asia with in-person and virtual workshops in collaboration with national standards bodies, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) stakeholders, and regional standards bodies such as ARSO: African Organization for Standardisation and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
ANSI’s direct outreach has resulted in the national adoption of ISO 30500 in more than 20 countries. Read more about ANSI’s recent efforts.
Another major initiative is Standards Alliance Phase 2, a public-private partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and ANSI that aims to increase impact in improving the national quality infrastructure, with opportunities related to water and sanitation in regions that include Latin America, Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Indo-Pacific.
Additionally, the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) has been recognized as an accreditor of the WaterSense Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect the future of the U.S. water supply by promoting water efficiency and enhancing the market for water-efficient products, programs, and practices. Through partnerships with irrigation professionals and irrigation certification programs and manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and utilities, the program is designed to promote water-efficient landscape irrigation practices and to bring WaterSense products to the marketplace and make it easier to purchase high-performing, water-efficient products.
Many standards developing organizations work on a daily basis on standardization activities to support plumbing and sanitation, including but not limited to:
To learn more about World Plumbing Day and its associated events, resources, and initiatives, visit its official website at www.worldplumbingday.org.