FEATURES 17
Patrick Gordon stresses that water is too cheap and too readily available, so it is not being treated as the valuable resource that it is. With the population always growing and the water supply remaining the same, we are constantly exerting more stress on an already stressed resource. The population needs to be educated about the value of water.
Safeguarding the public Ultimately, this all comes down to safeguarding the public – the use of non-compliant products as well as poor maintenance and workmanship of plumbing systems can result in sewage entering the water source and contaminating it. Contaminated water can cause Cholera, Typhoid, Hepatitis, and have Legionella( if the water system is incorrectly installed and the water temperature is incorrect) and E-coli, all presenting serious risks to the consumer and contributing to poor water and sanitation systems within South Africa. Although the country has a Consumer Protection Act, the lack of enforcement is leaving consumers vulnerable.
The solutions we must focus on this World Plumbing Day First and foremost, enforcement of laws, bylaws and the South African National Standards( SANS) is critical to address the vicious circle.“ You can have the best laws in the world, but if they aren’ t enforced, they are meaningless and serve no purpose” says Botha. Collaboration between the local authority and industry is a possible solution to the enforcement issue – the industry has the experience, skills and knowledge, which when paired with an educated and upskilled local authority work force, can eradicate nonenforcement.
Enforcement is needed in terms of infrastructure, where police and inspectors need to ensure that all buildings – new and old – are compliant to SANS and have CoC’ s where required. Enforcement also needs to be in place to not allow non-compliant products into the country at all – ultimately, they should not be available as an option to the plumber. With enforcement comes liability, and when plumbers are faced with liability in terms of using non-compliant products, the much-needed change can happen.
Next, the skills issue needs to be addressed. Ultimately, this involves creating a desire to be part of the industry and qualify as a plumber. Plumbing students need to be targeted at school level:“ Everybody wants to be an accountant, lawyer or doctor because that’ s where they believe the money lies, but that’ s not the reality. Not everyone can be that. There are people who work better with their hands than anything else, and that’ s who should be targeted to have a desire to become qualified plumbers. Educate people from school level about what plumbing and the trades are about, as well as the career paths and opportunities available – that will attract the right people to the trades who have the desire to become fully qualified artisans,” says Botha.
Keil adds that education surrounding awareness of skills is also important. Consumers should be taught the risks of using‘ the cheaper guy’ and noncompliant products, as well as how these factors could end up being dangerous and costly in the long run.
On top of creating a desire to be a plumber, work-place experience also needs to be integrated into current training options. If plumbers are taught theory and practical work at the same time by multiple teachers then out-of-the-box thinking can become the norm, instead of provoking anxiety as it currently does with students who have only learnt the basics of theory in classrooms. Similarly, training centres can offer some of the more select designations’ skills, such as heat pumps and backflow prevention, so that more specialised learners can enter the industry.
The removal of non-compliant products is also a vital solution. To prevent water wastage, noncompliant products need to be removed from shelves and stores, so that they are out of the system entirely. The sale of non-compliant products is motivated by money when it shouldn’ t be – the goal / purpose of products used in plumbing systems should be the safety of the public / consumer and the environment, and there needs to be an awareness created around this. Ultimately, this ties back to enforcement – there should be an enforcement method for non-compliant products to be removed from the shelves, which does not exist presently.
Plumbing students need to be targeted at school level.
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March 2026 Volume 32 I Number 01 www. plumbingafrica. co. za