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Plumbing is a discipline in Public Health Practice

Sanitary Engineering involves providing engineering interventions to prevent and control


infectious diseases that are transmitted through the environment. Two important measures to
achieve this are the provision of potable water and acceptable methods of sewage collection and
disposal.

The building or house drainage system is a terminal link of the sewerage system at the
household or resident level. It is the plumbing system in the building which has much closer
contact with the daily life of the individuals than the sewers or the sewage treatment plants. The
plumbing system may expose individuals to the potentially dangerous disease-causing
microorganisms carried by sewage. Defects in the plumbing system, therefore, like leakage or
cross-connection are public health risks since it may contaminate food and other sterile goods
inside the house or the water supply sources (e.g. groundwater) outside the house. Another health
risk is the entrance into the house of insects and rats from the drainage system. These vermins
transport pathogens in their feet or their bodies. Sewer air that contains hazardous gases like
methane and hydrogen sulfide may also make its way into the building through defective
plumbing. Thus, the practice of plumbing should be a function of an engineering discipline with
adequate public health knowledge.

The building or house water supply system should provide sufficient and safe water
supply to individuals. The design of the plumbing system should assure that the water supply
provided by public water utilities guaranteed safe by public health authorities would retain its
quality when water passes through the piping system inside the building until individuals
consume it. Defective house piping system may contaminate water supply with pathogens of
water borne diseases such as dysentery or cholera. A good choice of materials for the water
supply piping is important in preventing exposure of individuals to hazardous chemicals that
may leach into the water supply from pipe surfaces. A well-designed water supply system also
will provide sufficient quantity of water to all the fixtures which would encourage domestic and
personal hygiene especially among infants and children.

When epidemics or outbreaks of water borne or excreta transmitted diseases occur either
in the buildings or in communities, the sanitary engineer investigates its possible causes. First the
sanitary engineer is trained to identify whether these outbreaks are indeed associated with
exposure to contaminated water. Then he investigates water system in the community or in the
building, if the outbreak occurs inside the building. Then he assesses the building plumbing
system relative to the epidemic incidence. No other engineering discipline has this advantage as
far as protection of public health is concerned.

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