Plumbing Industry Leaders Address Key Trends, Issues at 2022 Emerging Water Technology Symposium
The seventh Emerging Water Technology Symposium returned as an in-person event for the first time in four years, bringing together industry, manufacturing, water utility and government leaders from around the world. A focus of this year’s event was on resources communities require to build safe and resilient plumbing systems, as well as meet the growing list of challenges to America’s drinking water.
The May 10-11 event at the Westin Riverwalk, San Antonio was co-convened by the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the American Society of Plumbing Engineers, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials and Plumbing Manufacturers International.
In his opening remarks, IAPMO Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Research Pete DeMarco pointed to a number of accomplishments for which the EWTS has served as a springboard, including the development of the Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement (now the Water Efficiency and Sanitation Standard WE•Stand); ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2018, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems; ASSE 12000 series on infection control and water quality, which is in IAPMO’s Uniform Plumbing Code; and IAPMO’s Water Demand Calculator, whose second version was released in 2020.
PMI CEO Kerry Stackpole spoke at the event and said the relationships between the organizations represented at EWTS had likely never been more important than they are now. He said that while the best and brightest among us devised medical solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, the plumbing industry also played an important role.
“What’s also important is how our industry responded,” he said. “Our industry’s experience and our focus became touchless faucets, antimicrobial surfaces, water purification systems, all kinds of energy-efficient devices focused on safe and responsible plumbing. We all had a contribution to make and I think our industry stepped up.”
This year’s keynote speakers were Robert Puente, president and CEO of the San Antonio Water System and Don Johnston, senior operations director, Indonesia, for Water.org.
Another speaker, Special Pathogens Laboratory Executive Vice President/Founder Dr. Janet Stout, looked at approaches and products for mitigating the risk of legionellosis in point-of-use and point-of-entry building water systems. Improved water management requires knowledgeable legionella prevention and water service providers, which can come from certification to ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI 12080 for Legionella Water Safety and Management Personnel.
IAPMO will provide sessions from the EWTS on-demand in the near future. To be notified when available, register at www.ewts.org/2022-ewts.
