We’ve all seen the stereotypical image of a plumber, heavy tool belt pulling his pants down to reveal more than the source of your leaky faucet. But how often do you consider the plumber who designed, installed and maintains the system that transports clean, safe water into your home, office or school and carries the dirty water safely away?
With encouragement from the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students across the United States will learn on Thursday the many ways in which plumbers make their schools and homes safe and healthy every day.
The World Plumbing Council (WPC) has established March 11 each year as World Plumbing Day, an annual celebration to promote appreciation of the plumbing industry’s vital work on behalf of the planet and its people. The inaugural event Thursday aims to help the general public better understand how the plumbing industry protects the public’s health and safety, demonstrate the extent to which it works to limit mankind’s environmental footprint and to illuminate other important work performed by contractors, inspectors, installers, engineers, manufacturers and academicians that is often taken for granted.
IAPMO, publisher of the American National Standard designated Uniform Plumbing Code©, is an enthusiastic supporter of World Plumbing Day and to that end developed an elementary school educational activity book and contest to promote awareness of the celebration. The association approached grade school administrators about participation in World Plumbing Day by devoting a segment of their school day’s curriculum to learning activities — including a coloring page, word search and pipe sizing exercise — devised for third through fifth grade students. Students who complete their grade level’s activity are then eligible to win one of three Nintendo Wii game systems, compliments of IAPMO.
In addition to the activity pages, educators have been encouraged to share with their students from plumbing fact sheets furnished by the WPC pertaining to the health and environmental aspects of plumbing.
“We feel like students are a great receptacle for this kind of enlightenment because they are often eager to share new discoveries with their families and doing so cements this knowledge into something they carry into their adult life,” said Gaby Davis, IAPMO senior director of Worldwide Operations.
Activity booklets, fact sheets and other relevant information are available to download in .pdf file format at http://www.iapmo.org/Pages/WorldPlumbingDayContest.aspx. Additional information about World Plumbing Day, including a list of other planned events, can be found at www.worldplumbingday.org. The World Plumbing Council and IAPMO encourage everybody, plumbing professional or not, to participate in the celebration annually, beginning with this year’s inaugural event.
“Widespread awareness of this event will no doubt have a profoundly positive effect on people all over the world, from crowded cities to rural villages — everywhere that is touched or could benefit from the touch of plumbing’s contributions,” said Bob Siemsen, IAPMO President.
For more information on IAPMO’s participation in World Plumbing Day, direct your Web browser to www.iapmo.org or contact Gaby Davis at (909) 472-4203 or gaby.davis@iapmo.org.
Last modified: March 10, 2010