Many people take the clean water they drink every day for granted. We can’t live without clean water very long and the supply of clean uncontaminated water for our society is a huge responsibility for municipalities and provinces and in most cases it is taken care of very well. Plumbers are taken for granted as well, but they are actually the “water police” for our nation’s water and sewage systems because they are trained in how to install these systems so that the water and the sewer do not get together and make us sick or worse. This still happens in some areas of the country where checks and balances are not maintained, and especially where plumbers are not consulted on changes in the water system.
When people in the Middle Ages realized that the Black Plague that killed millions of people was a result of poor sanitation resulting in filth spread by rats and that it was actually contaminating their entire water supply, they started planning to fix this problem with plumbers. The practice at that time of throwing waste from bedpans out into the street created a lot of problems, and has to be changed to clean up the world at that time.
In the present day most people do not realize that water and waste are directly related in our ecosystem. Ask anyone that is into “green technologies” and they will tell you that we have to change the way we do things or we will end up with the same problems because of the way we build our cities and the effect it is having on our planet. You have to care of the water supply at every level of its use or it will come back to haunt you in the future. Developers many times do not worry about the hazards they can create from their building methods and how it affects the ecosystem. Being “green” has always been part of the plumbers work, but it has now become fashionable to be “sustainable”, and in reality plumbers have always worked towards protecting our precious water resources and have always been “green”. Developers and municipalities should consult plumbers more often to stop problems before they happen.
Plumbers have a keen understanding of the water table and the water supply systems and how to keep them clean. They work unseen every day to keep them operating from the water supply to the water treatment plants and eventually to your home. Downtown Toronto has a view of one of the Great Lakes, which is connected to the other Great Lakes, and these are connected to the ocean. The water system is connected to this as all of the Great Lakes are used as potable water (water that is safe to drink and free from contaminants). This means all of the water used in Toronto has come from the lakes to the water treatment plants and is used as potable water for the city in a recycled system. Their sewer goes into the lake from the sewer system and they drink the recycled water that comes out of the lake. As a result people think the water is not good and pay more than the price of gasoline to purchase and drink millions of bottles of water (creating more waste plastic from bottles) and think they are safe. Nothing could be further from the truth! City and town water systems are tested several times daily and treated when necessary and are always free from contaminants and are actually the safest supply of water available. Municipalities and cities guarantee that your water is clean as they work from a very different set of standards, and plumbers are there at every level making sure that they do it the right way.
Water is different from any other element in the world as it is one thing we cannot do without for very long and without clean water everyone would be in trouble quickly. In Canada we have one of the largest stores of freshwater on the planet. If you travel to other countries you will see a very different story where in the developing world there are very poor or non-existent standards for water treatment or conservation. Water actually kills many people with disease and pollution contained in it and access to clean water is not a given for millions of people. Don’t take your water for granted. The importance of water treatment and usage in all phases of your life has to be studied and changed to ensure that you will be able to have safe pure water for the future. Scientists and researchers study and work on solutions, but the plumber is the one that builds the infrastructure for this. Don’t accept anything but a “bona-fide” plumber to do your work as many others are not trained in water supply and sewer systems and do not understand the principles or full scope of the work and they invariably leave something out that creates problems for you and the ecosystem.
Next time you see a plumber say thanks to them for keeping your water clean and safe and take time to realize that they take care of your health and safety through their efforts. Being green is part of what a plumber does on a daily basis.