GreenPlumbers®
By Timothy Allinson, P.E.
Murray Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Just when I thought I had heard all I could stand about everything green, I learned about GreenPlumbers and was pleasantly surprised. Something drew me to their ASPE presentation last April — call it morbid curiosity — but instead of being frustrated with the usual environmental bandwagon shtick, I heard creative ideas that promoted industry specific concepts that I have been harping on for years.
GreenPlumbers was created in Australia in 2001 following a 10-year drought. The program has helped produce a 50% reduction in water use across that continent. In September 2007 an alliance was established with the U.S. and since then the program has educated over 1,500 American plumbers in the arena of plumbing efficiency.
The GreenPlumbers accreditation program includes five courses, namely Climate Care, Solar Hot Water, Caring For Our Water, Water Efficient Technology, and Inspection Report Services. They also offer five elective workshops in Natural Wastewater Treatment, Commercial Hot Water Systems, Principles in Pumps, Urban Irrigation Systems, and Cooling Tower Efficiency.
What really opened my ears to GreenPlumbers was what you might call their vision statement: The ability to bring change to an industry that has remained relatively stagnant for over 30 years; improving public image, attracting the younger generation, and creating champions of conversation. Since the 1920s our industry has used the phrase, “The plumber protects the health of the nation.” For the 21st century this organization has rewritten that: “The GreenPlumber protects the resources of our planet.”
While I take the green movement with a grain of salt, believing that global warming is part of a natural cycle that mankind has perhaps accelerated a bit - but nothing compared to what a really big, naturally occurring volcanic eruption can do — I have always embraced water as the most remarkable, valuable, and under appreciated gift on our planet. I like the fact that this program shares that value and also promotes the image of the plumbing industry in an effort to attract the younger generation while also promoting good communication skills for our trade.
A more detailed breakdown of the GreenPlumbers curriculum is as follows.
Climate Care
• Hot Water Heating
• Energy Consumption
• Heating Appliances
• Cooling Appliances
• Greenhouse Gas Abatement
Solar Hot Water
• Solar Hot Water Technology
• State Rebate Information
• Sizing and Installation
• Retro Fitting
• New Technology
Caring For Our Water
• Water Efficient Products
• New Technology
• Household Water Audits
• Reducing Household Consumption
• Stormwater
Water Efficient Technology
• Reuse/Recycled Water
• Rainwater
• Graywater
• Wastewater Treatment Systems
• Environmental, Public Health & Safety Regulations
Inspection Report Services
• Water and Energy Audits
• Commercial, Industrial & Residential Buildings
• Master Planning for Future Improvement
While this program focuses on the trade plumber rather than the plumbing engineer, it is important for the latter to be familiar with the program and terminology in case it is raised in a meeting or addressed as a question by owner or architect. “What exactly is a green plumber,” you might be asked? It’s good to have the answer.
I like anything that puts plumbing into the spotlight of importance for the American public. Take Joe the Plumber, made famous during John McCain’s presidential candidacy. Unfortunately Joe turned out to be less than the ideal poster boy for our trade, but I was still glad that McCain had selected a plumber to stand as the American ideal. This is the person we are trying to embrace in our country. This is the person the system should work for — the hard working American, prepared to get his hands dirty for the benefit of others. There are many in this country who benefit from the system — perhaps more today than ever — who don’t hold a candle to the Plumber’s ethic. I know a bunch of plumbers in my company who would have been far better selections for John’s campaign. It’s too bad he didn’t consult with me — it would have saved him some embarrassment.
In April, my son’s Cub Scout pack took a trip to the San Diego Museum of Natural History. There again I was pleased to see that they had an entire exhibit on water, emphasizing its importance, its remarkable history and its local scarcity. They created a wonderful display that I photographed (see page 12) depicting the water system serving the entire Southwest. They used copper pipe to represent the waterways, funnels to represent the areas of rainwater capture, copper ball floats to represent damned reservoirs, and hose bibbs to represent major areas of consumption. It was brilliant, simplistic, and artistic all at once. And it called attention to young and old of the importance of both water and plumbing.
As I write this I just received email notification that my local water purveyor here in So Cal, the Moulton Niguel Water District (MNWD), is declaring a Level 2 Water Alert effective June 1st. This alert is intended to produce a 20% reduction in consumer demand. It limits residential irrigation to two weekdays and one weekend day, alternating days from city to city, and commercial irrigation to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Here’s a big one: no potable water is allowed for irrigating golf courses. Golf courses are required to convert to recycled water within 30 days. Now, I’m not sure how all the golf courses are going to do that. Do all of them have recycled water available? If not, a conversion would be nearly impossible. This could put some of the golf courses out of business. Other restrictions are relatively minor.
The MNWD has four levels of water alerts. Level 4 requires irrigation only once a week, no car washing except at commercial recycled water facilities, and other measures relatively minor in nature. In actuality, even a Level 4 emergency still does not represent a true hardship. Especially when you compare it to a country such as Jordan, where water mains are turned on only once a week, and people are required to collect all of their water for the week on that one day. I guess that’s what the MNWD might call a Level 10 emergency.
If you are interested in more information on GreenPlumbers you can go to www.greenplumbersusa.com.
Timothy Allinson is a senior professional engineer with Murray Co., Mechanical Contractors, in Long Beach, Calif. He holds a BSME from Tufts University and an MBA from New York University. He is a professional engineer licensed in both mechanical and fire protection engineering in various states, and is a leed accredited professional. Allinson is a past-president of ASPE, both the New York and Orange County Chapters.