Plumbers across the land will be celebrated during next month’s World Plumbing Day.
The annual event is back on March 11, with organisations like the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), highlighting the vital role plumbing and heating engineers play in keeping the health and wealth of the nation safe.
Initiated by the World Plumbing Council (WPC), World Plumbing Day has been a fixture since 2010, created to promote the vital link between good quality plumbing, health, environmental sustainability and, increasingly, economic prosperity, the day raises awareness of the importance of plumbing and plumbers worldwide.
Kevin Wellman, CEO of the CIPHE and WPC executive board director, said: “Plumbing and heating engineers are working at the very heart of the biggest issues we face today, but sadly this often goes unrecognised. Globally, plumbing and plumbers are the reason people have clean drinking water, safe sanitation, heating, and hot water. Closer to home, not only is our industry vital to the transition to a carbon neutral economy, but it has a leading role in cutting water waste to save our most precious of resources, fresh water.
“The current energy crisis has placed engineers in the thick of helping consumers use their heating and hot water systems in the most efficient and cost-effective way. It will be those designing and installing new systems, or servicing and upgrading those already in use, who make a personal impact when it comes to their client’s bills and sustainability. There will be millions of households affected by the fuel price rises this year, and so each piece of advice given, or energy and water saving measure made, will help make a difference.
“Looking back over the past two years it’s also clear that plumbing has sat at the heart of tackling the pandemic. Back in the lockdowns, PPE clad engineers were deemed critical workers, fixing plumbing, drainage, and heating emergencies in incredibly tough situations. As the home renovation market boomed and supply chain issues hit, engineers had to deal with changing governmental advice, price hikes and scarcity of materials, all rolled in with the health and safety practicalities of working during a pandemic.
“We should all be immensely proud of how the industry responded, and how those within it continue to put consumers first in the face of the energy crisis. There is far too little recognition for the professional, sterling work engineers provide day-in-day-out. Those in the industry should rightly be celebrated for all they do this World Plumbing Day.”