The 2008 World Plumbing Conference was held in Calgary, Canada at the end of September, 2008.

Organised by the Mechanical Contractors Association of Canada, the Mechanical Contractors Association of Alberta and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating, the event was held jointly with these three organisations’ annual conferences and also featured the CIPHEX West Trade Show.

Over 600 delegates attended the joint event, staged over 4 days, which featured a wide range of activities, both social and formal and included the WPC’s annual meeting where Executive Board members for 2008 to 2011 were elected.

The official opening ceremony, for all delegates, took place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, hosted by MCA Canada Chairman James Derkson and WPC Chairman Robert Burgon. The ceremony, followed by dinner, was a glittering affair with delegates participating in Calgary’s internationally recognised “White Hat Ceremony”, as members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – the Mounties – looked on.

The serious business of the Conference started the following day, Thursday, with a range of seminars and workshops including a presentation on “Advancing the Health Aspects of Plumbing” by John McBride, WPC’s liaison representative with the World Health Organisation (WHO). He outlined the various aspects of the work he is engaged in with WHO which includes:

• Preparation of a discussion paper for a network of water regulators in developing countries that will demonstrate the role and need for plumbing regulation.
• Development of a range of training materials that will help build plumbing capacity and contribute to improved health in countries where little formal training exists.
• Contribution of plumbing-related definitions to an international lexicon of water and sanitation terms being developed by WHO.
• Identification of minimum plumbing maintenance standards in high-risk locations such as health-care facilities and schools.
• Earmarking of plumbing industry personnel who might be able to join WHO’s roster of experts to be mobilized in emergency situations.
• Investigation of promotional materials that can be used to promote the link between plumbing and health.

“These projects are mainly targeted at developing countries,” said McBride, whose Council’s mandate is to develop and promote the image and standards of the plumbing industry worldwide. He went on to tell conference delegates that more than 75 terms have been identified by the Council as priorities in terms of harmonizing the international plumbing vocabulary.

Also covering a specifically plumbing topic, Canadian born Jennifer Mercer spoke of “The Role of Plumbing in the Protection of Public Health”. Jennifer has been with the World Health Organisation since 2007, focusing on small community water supply management and the use of regulations to improve and protect public health as it relates to drinking water.

Jeff Patchell, publisher of World Plumbing Review, continued with the plumbing theme in his presentation, “What the World Thinks”, discussing the role of plumbing across the world.

Friday offered the opportunity to enjoy the CIPHEX Trade Show while golfers could take part in the John Bradshaw Memorial Golf Tournament. The last day of the Conference saw ultra-marathon runner Ray Zahab telling delegates of his exploits which have included running across the Sahara Desert – all 7,500 kilometres of it – in just 111 days at an average of almost 70 kilometres a day. Ray dedicates his running to safe water issues and to highlight the water crisis in Africa.

The Conference ended with a Gala Dinner where retiring members of the WPC Board, George Bliss III (who was unable to be at the ceremony in person due to a close family bereavement), Andy Watts and Henry Hung were presented with clocks to mark their longstanding service to the Council.