Plumbing Connection Spring 2016

56 / 116

5 6 PLUMBING CONNECTION SPRING 2016
Go to the bottom of the page and you
will see where it says ‘click here to
download the full report’.
What I did learn from the IETS is
that Australia is no backwater when it
comes to plumbing innovation. In fact,
though we might think we are saddled
with bureaucracy and red tape, the
USA leaves us for dead.
This event celebrated the 10th
anniversary of the launch of the Water
Sense product mark, which is similar
to our WELS mark. The difference is,
the US industry has not been able to
convince Congress to put legislation
behind this water saving mark and
mandate it and I doubt Donald
Trump is about to become a water
conservationist!
That same attitude may well prevail
at one palatial residence in Hollywood
which I was told has an annual
consumption of 10.5 million gallons of
water. They either take a lot of showers
in LA or the fountains and irrigation
soak it up – and in the great American
way, it’s his God damn right to use it.
Such conference events are difficult
to summarise as an enormous
amount of information is presented,
so I suggest if you are interested
you can go to the event website,
where you can download each of
the presentations over the two
days:
If there was a common theme
coming out of the two days, it was the
industry’s concern with maintaining
the overall quality of the ‘potable water
system’ – it’s under threat from many
quarters.
Legionella was an issue that many
of the speakers referred to, as well
as the recent Flint, Michigan lead
contamination issue, which was on the
minds of the industry.
Due to reduced water usage
volumes, drain line-carry is an ongoing
issue in the US (as it is in Australia)
and it was acknowledged that a lot
had been learned from Australia’s
experience and research. There is
a strong collaborative exchange
between Australia’s AsFlow Committee
and the US’s Plumbing Efficiency
Research Coalition (PERC) Committee.
Events such as the IETS are
important for the ‘thinkers’ across
the industry, however given the size
of the North American sector, it was
surprising how few suppliers were at
the event – it makes you wonder how
many really understand the big picture
and the opportunities that come with
it.
T: 1300 493 359
F:+613 9676 9268
Hydroflow Distributors (Aust) Pty Ltd
SUPPLIERS TO THE
PLUMBING,
FIRE & HVAC
INDUSTRY
CHICAGO SYMPOSIUM WRAP