World Plumbing Day is on March 11 each year. It’s celebrated worldwide with various events recognizing the work plumbers do to service and maintain our water and sanitation networks.
The day also highlights where we can improve and ensure safe plumbing systems are available to all. These World Plumbing Facts highlight the importance of plumbers and the need to continually develop our plumbing systems both now and into the future.
When you read through these statistics, it can seem disheartening that much of the world has little or no access to clean drinking water and safe sanitation facilities.
In Australia, we are lucky to have the availability of bathrooms in our homes, schools, workplaces and public areas.
But this is not the norm for many parts of the world.
While World Plumbing Day is a celebration for plumbers and those associated in the industry, it’s also a time to collaborate on ways to improve our plumbing systems. And these World Plumbing Facts show there is much more to be done to ensure what we take for granted everyday, is available to all people, no matter where they are in the world.
World Plumbing Facts
- 892 Million people defecate in the open which can include in gutters, streets, gardens and open waterways.
- In 2017, 45% of the global population used a safely managed sanitation service.
- 6 in 10 people lack safely managed sanitation.
- 361,000 children under the age of 5 years of age die each year due to water born diarrhea due to water defecation.
- 1:5 Schools worldwide don’t provide any toilet facilities for children and staff
- The use of sanitation services increased from 28% in 2000 to 39% in 2015 where the global population used safely managed sanitation services.
- 3 in 10 people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water to their home.
Plumbing is important to our health
Plumbing is important as it extends our life expectancy and improves living conditions immensely.
When we think about plumbing, we think about the nasty jobs plumbers need to handle, but sanitation services and the maintenance of drinking water supplies keeps you and your family healthy. In the world’s eyes, if you have access to drinking water and sanitation in your home, you’re very fortunate.
How can we help others who don’t have access to safe drinking water or sanitation?
Privilege comes with responsibility when it comes to plumbing. In Australia you must have a plumbing licence to conduct any type of plumbing works. This is to ensure the continued standards in which our plumbing systems are installed are maintained.
To help others access safe drinking water and sanitation, here are some ways to help
- Use a local licensed plumber for all your plumbing needs at home
- Identify leaks and unusual defects to protect the loss of water supply and prevent waste contaminating the environment.
- Support a Water Project
- Support a Sanitation Project
- Take part in World Plumbing Day celebrations
- Reflect on the part you can play with the plumbing in your own home and beyond
- Do an apprenticeship and become a plumber – you could be the person to assist communities who lack the very facilities we take for granted.
All statistics and facts have been provided by the World Plumbing Council and World Health Organisation.
