The History of Plumbing
Part 1 Learning from past experiences
W
e can study history and it
will show us what has been
successful and what has
been unsuccessful. When we look at
the history of plumbing systems we
often see many changes occurred after
catastrophic fires, plagues or other epi-
demics that related to health or safety
issues. As the saying goes, those who
do not study history are bound to
repeat it. Therefore, by the knowing
and studying the history of plumbing,
we are less likely to repeat the unsafe
designs or installations that led to the
uncontrollable fires, plagues and epi-
demics in the past.
There have been plenty of signifi-
cant plumbing events in the history of
plumbing. History provides us with
knowledge and informative records of
past plumbing performance and
adverse experiences. Recognition of
these past mistakes provides us with
the knowledge to move on and devel-
op better plumbing systems that will
help prevent illness and protect the
health and safety of the public. Society
and the engineering community tend
to react to disasters, plagues and epi-
demics by first asking why they hap-
pened and what could have been done
to prevent them from occurring.
Consider the space shuttle disaster.
After studying the situation it was
found that the rubber O-rings on the
solid fuel rocket boosters were leak-
ing. Corrections were made to the o-
rings and restrictions were placed on
the temperature at lift-off. Consider
the many boiler explosions that led to
the development of the temperature
and pressure relief valves. There were
also many cross connections and ill-
nesses associated with the worlds
fairs in Chicago and New York that led
to the implementation of backflow
prevention requirements. The
American Society of Sanitary
Plumbing Engineer
By Ronald L. George, CIPE
Engineering, a standards writing orga-
nization, carries this thought forward
in its motto, Prevention Rather Than
Cure. We can learn from the past and
prevent outbreaks of plagues and ill-
ness rather than cure the ill effects
experienced by persons exposed to
unsanitary or unsafe plumbing sys-
tems. This is where education plays a
very important part in our future. We
must strive to educate ourselves about
the proper ways to design and install
plumbing systems. Only then can we
provide plumbing systems that are
safe.
The following is an effort to record
the chronological events in the history
of plumbing and to help you under-
stand why todays codes may require
or not allow certain things. Often you
may find the codes are silent on an
issue or a particular topic. If you see
an area in the codes that needs to be
addressed, I encourage you to propose
a code change to help prevent an
unsafe plumbing system and help pro-
tect the health of the world.
Ancient plumbing
4000-3000 B.C.: Indus River
Valley, India. Plumbing has been
around for a long time. The first
known evidence of ancient plumbing
was when archaeologists unearthed
copper water pipes in the palace ruins
in the Indus River valley. The water
pipe was estimated to be 5,500 years
old. The palace site was excavated and
found to have individual apartments.
Each bedroom apparently had been
provided with a bathroom with elabo-
rate plumbing systems for the time.
This establishes the earliest known
plumbing systems almost 6,000 years
ago.
2500 B.C.: Copper Pipes. The
Egyptians built elaborate bathrooms
Copyright 2001 TMB Publishing, Inc.
inside the pyramids for their dead to
use on their journey to another life.
Egyptians also developed copper
pipes used for intricate irrigation and
sewage systems.
2400-2150 B.C.: Ancient Babylon
between Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers. Greek writers wrote of
ancient Babylonia where the science
of hydraulic engineering seems to
have had its beginning. A network of
canals all skillfully planned and regu-
lated covered the area. They had large
brick drainage sewers with access
holes similar to todays manholes.
Society and the
engineering
community tend to
react to disasters,
plagues and
epidemics by first
asking why they
happened and
what could have
been done to
prevent them from
occurring.
The First Building Code. The first
reported building code came from
Continued on page 46
About the Author
Ron George, CIPE, is ASPEs Vice
President Education and a regular contrib -
utor to Plumbing Engineer magazine, where
his Designers Guide column appears each
month. He is employed by SmithGroup Inc.
Architects, Engineers, Detroit.
March 2001/Page 45
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 45
ancient Babylon. It was called the
Code of Hammurabi, written by
Hammurabi, the sixth king of the
Amorite Dynasty of Old Babylon.
This compilation of laws included
special provisions for construction and
maintenance of the canals that were
very important to that desert region.
One of the clauses in this code deals
with construction of a building. The
clause struck terror in the heart of
unethical contractors. The clause said,
If a builder build a house for some
one, and does not construct it properly,
and the house which he built fall in
and kill its owner, then that builder
shall be put to death. If it kill the son
of the owner, the son of that builder
shall be put to death. If it kill a slave of
the owner, then he shall give a new
slave to the owner of the house.
The Hammurabi Code is best
known from a beautifully engraved
diorite stela, now in the Louvre
Museum, which also depicts the king
receiving the law from Shamash, the
god of justice. This copy was made
long after Hammurabis time, and it is
clear that his was a long-lasting contri-
bution to Mesopotamian civilization.
It encodes many laws which had prob-
ably evolved over a long period of
time, but is interesting to the general
reader because of what it tells us about
the attitudes and daily lives of the
ancient Babylonians.
1500 B.C.: Rainwater Cisterns.
On the island of Crete, fresh water sys-
tems, sewage systems and flushing toi-
lets were used regularly. Rainwater
was utilized and cisterns were used for
storage of rainwater until it was need-
ed for drinking, washing, bathing and
cooking uses.
1000 B.C.: The Island of Crete.
On the island of Crete, the remains of
a plumbing system at least 3000 years
old were unearthed in excavations on
the site of an ancient palace of
Knossos. Evidence was found of
plumbing fixtures, a water supply sys-
tem, a sanitary drainage system, and a
heating system. One of the fixtures
was a bathtub made of hard pottery
and five feet in length. It was a floor-
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standing model with an integral base,
resembling in shape the cast-iron bath-
tub-on-base widely installed in
America in the latter part of the 19th
century. Another fixture was a water
closet, also of hard pottery. It showed
evidence of having been equipped
with a water closet seat and a crude
flushing device. Found intact were
long sections of clay drainpipe of the
bell-and-spigot type. Pipe lengths
were short, and branch fittings were
provided with T and Y connections
adjacent to the bells or hubs.
On Crete, evidence
was found of 3000-
year-old plumbing
fixtures, a water
supply system, a
sanitary drainage
system, and a
heating system.
500 B.C. - A.D. 455: The Roman
Empire. Of all the ancient peoples, the
Romans carried sanitation to the high-
est and broadest degree of develop-
ment. From their language, Latin, have
come such words as sanitation and
plumber, the latter being derived from
artifex plumbarius, meaning a worker
in lead. Roman aqueducts still grace
the Italian countryside and rank
among the worlds engineering tri-
umphs. Extensive underground sewer
systems, public and private baths, lead
and bronze water piping systems, and
marble fixtures with gold and silver
fittings have come to be symbolic of
the civilization of Ancient Rome.
An especially significant feature of
progress may be cited as the fact that
much of the underground public water
supply system was constructed of
standardized cast lead sections. It is
interesting to note that the lead pipes
that were so convenient to work with
at the time made vast improvements in
sanitary conditions. Today we are
moving away from lead in piping sys-
tems for health reasons one more
lesson learned from our experiences.
The Roman Baths. Public bathing
colonies dotted the Roman Empire.
One of them, the baths of Diocletian,
reportedly accommodated 3,200
bathers. Baths and bathing pools were
lined with ceramic glazed tile. In resi-
dences, bathtubs often occupied an
entire room and were supplied with
both hot and cold water. Hot water was
provided by means of lead or bronze
piping which conveyed water across
open fires. Bathtubs often were carved
from solid marble or lined with ceram-
ic glazed tile and equipped with gold
or silver fittings.
Of all the leisure activities, bathing
was surely the most important for the
greatest number of Romans, because it
was part of the daily regimen for men
of all classes, and many women as
well. We think of bathing as a very pri-
vate activity conducted in the home,
but bathing in Rome was a communal
activity, conducted for the most part in
public facilities that in some ways
resembled modern spas or health clubs
(although they were far less expen-
sive). A modern scholar, Fikret Yegl,
sums up the significance of Roman
baths in the following way:
The universal acceptance of
bathing as a central event in daily
life belongs to the Roman world
and it is hardly an exaggeration to
say that at the height of the empire,
the baths embodied the ideal
Roman way of urban life. Apart
from their normal hygienic func -
tions, they provided facilities for
sports and recreation. Their public
nature created the proper environ -
ment much like a city club or
community center for social
intercourse varying from neighbor -
hood gossip to business discus -
sions. There was even a cultural
and intellectual side to the baths,
since they were truly grand estab -
lishments, the bathhouses (ther -
mae) incorporated libraries, lec -
ture halls, colonnades, and prome -
March 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 46
nades and assumed a character
like the Greek gymnasium.
(Baths and Bathing in Classical
Antiquity. Cambridge: MIT, 1992)
The Hypocaust: Roman engineers
devised an ingenious system of heat-
ing the baths called the hypocaust. The
floor was raised off the ground by pil-
lars and spaces were left inside the
walls so that hot air from the furnace
or what they called the Praefurnium
could circulate through these open
areas. Rooms requiring the most heat
were placed closest to the furnace,
whose heat could be increased by
adding more wood.
Latrines: Roman bathhouses also
had large public latrines, often with
marble seats over channels whose con-
tinuous flow of water constituted the
first flush toilets. There was also a
shallow water channel in front of the
seats that was furnished with sponges
attached to sticks for patrons to clean
themselves.
The Dark Ages
A.D. 455 - 1200: The Dark Ages.
After almost a thousand years of world
rule, the empire of Ancient Rome
crumbled. In the fifth century, barbaric
tribes of Goths and Vandals subjected
it to successive invasions from the
north of Europe. In 455, Vandals swept
south through Rome, sacked it of all
things of value including any metals
that could be removed, and destroyed
its public works. With the destruction
of Rome, its civilization rapidly
decayed, and sanitary standards
regressed almost to the vanishing
point. (Surprisingly several major
urban cities areas have recently gone
through similar experiences on a
smaller scale, where older parts of the
city have abandoned buildings that are
being stripped of plumbing brass and
pipe to be sold as scrap metal.)
The following 10 centuries have
been historically termed the Dark
Ages. Many of the knowledgeable
people were killed off and there was
little or no recorded history during this
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time period. For many centuries, these
people in general paid little attention
to personal cleanliness and other
domestic sanitary needs involving the
use of water. Bathing was frowned
upon by persons of influence and not
taken seriously even by members of
the ruling class, many of whom pre-
ferred to use perfume. Plumbing fix-
tures fell into disuse, including water
closets that had been developed and
For many centuries,
people paid little
attention to
personal cleanliness
and other domestic
sanitary needs
involving the use
of water.
with their ancestors in paradise.
widely used during the fourth and fifth
centuries in Rome. They were not used
again until about the 12th century, and
even then their use was extremely lim-
ited.
Plagues and Epidemics
A.D. 1300 Bubonic Plague,
The Black Death: In the early
1330s an outbreak of deadly bubonic
plague occurred in China. The plague
would mainly affect rodents, but fleas
transmitted the disease to people.
Once people were infected, they
infected others very rapidly. The
plague causes fever and a painful
swelling of the lymph glands called
buboes, which is how it gets the name
Bubonic Plague. The disease also
causes spots on the skin that are red at
first and then turn black.
Because China was one of the
busiest of the worlds trading nations,
it was only a matter of time before the
outbreak of plague in China spread to
western Asia and Europe. In October
of 1347, several Italian merchant ships
returned from a trip to the Black Sea,
one of the key links in trade with
China. When the ships docked in
Sicily, many of those on board were
already dying of the plague. Within
days the disease spread to the city and
the surrounding countryside. An eye-
witness tells what happened:
Realizing what a deadly disaster
had come to them, the people
quickly drove the Italians from
their city. But the disease
remained, and soon death was
everywhere. Fathers abandoned
their sick sons. Lawyers refused to
come and make out wills for the
dying. Friars and nuns were left to
care for the sick, and monasteries
and convents were soon deserted,
as they were stricken, too. Bodies
were left in empty houses, and
there was no one to give them a
Christian burial.
The disease struck and killed people
with terrible speed. The Italian writer
Boccaccio said its victims often ate
lunch with their friends and dinner
By the following August, the plague
had spread as far north as England,
where people called it The Black
Death because of the black spots it
produced on the skin. A terrible killer
was loose across Europe, and
Medieval medicine had nothing to
combat it.
In winter the disease seemed to dis-
appear, but only because fleas
which were now helping to carry it
from person to person were dor-
mant then. Each spring, the plague
attacked again, killing new victims.
After five years, 25 million people
one third of Europes population
were dead.
Even when the worst was over,
smaller outbreaks continued, not just
for years, but for centuries. The sur-
vivors lived in constant fear of the
plagues return, and the disease did not
disappear until the 1600s.
Medieval society never recovered
from the results of the plague. So
many people had died that there were
serious labor shortages all over
March 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 48
Europe. This led workers to demand
higher wages, but landlords refused
those demands. By the end of the
1300s, peasant revolts broke out in
England, France, Belgium and Italy.
The disease took its toll on the
church as well. People throughout
Christendom had prayed devoutly for
deliverance from the plague. Why
hadnt those prayers been answered? A
new period of political turmoil and
philosophical questioning lay ahead.
Estimated population of
Europe, 1000 to 1352
1000 38 million
1100 48 million
1200 59 million
1300 70 million
1347 75 million
1352 50 million
25 million people died in just under five
years, between 1347 and 1352.
Source: www.byu.edu/ipt/projects/
middleages/lifetimes/plague.html
The plagues aftermath
During the 14th century, Europe had
been ravaged by disease. Bubonic
plague swept the continent and
England reportedly killing 25 million
people. To improve sanitary condi-
tions in Paris, the authorities in 1395
ordered a stop to the practice of throw-
ing sewage out of building windows
and dumping sewage waste pots onto
the streets below. But this was a com-
mon practice that continued unabated
in other cities.
As late as the early part of the 18th
century, European cities had not been
equipped with sanitary sewage dispos-
al facilities. The mortality rate in many
cities exceeded the birth rate. When
building owners were ordered to
install domestic sewage vaults, consid-
erable opposition was raised. It was
not until the latter part of the 18th and
early part of the 19th centuries that
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European cities started to provide pub-
lic sewer systems beneath city streets.
Slowly people began to use the conve-
nient public sewer facilities for the dis-
posal of sewage from buildings and to
develop progressively higher sanitary
standards.
1455: First Recorded Use of Iron
Piping. The first official record of iron
pipe was in 1455 at an installation in
Siegerland, Germany. German crafts-
men had learned how to build fires hot
enough to melt iron and pour it into
castings to make hollow pipe. At this
time the joints were crude because the
hub and spigot was not invented yet.
1562 Cast Iron Piping. Another
early recorded use of cast iron pipe
was at Langensalza, Germany, circa
1562, where it supplied water for a
fountain.
1596: First Flushing Water
Closet. In 1596, Sir John Harington,
godson to Queen Elizabeth, developed
what was then called a necessary for
his godmother the Queen and himself.
A rather accomplished inventor,
Harington published a book describing
his invention. This invention ended his
career. Mr. Harington was ridiculed by
his peers for developing such an
absurd device. He never built another
one, though he and his godmother both
used theirs.
1664: First Full Scale Cast Iron
Pipe Project. In 1664 at Versailles,
France, King Louis XIV ordered the
construction of a cast iron main to
carry water some 15 miles from a
pumping or lift station at Marley-on-
Seine to the palace fountains and sur-
rounding area. The system was still
functioning after more than 300 years
of service. It represents a genuine pio-
neer effort, because at the time of
installation, production costs on cast
iron pipe were considered prohibitive.
The King of France could certainly
afford to build this project. This was
due principally to the fact that high-
cost charcoal was used exclusively as
a fuel to reduce iron ore. Charcoal was
needed to get the fire hot enough to
melt the iron.
1738: Coke Replaces Charcoal for
production of Cast Iron. In 1738,
charcoal was replaced by coke in the
reduction process. Immediately fol-
lowing this development, cast iron
pipe was installed in a number of other
distribution systems in France.
1746: Cast Iron Pipe Introduced
to England. Cast iron pipe was intro-
duced in London, England, by the
Chelsea Water Company.
1775: The Water Closet Re-
emerges in England. Almost 200
years after John Harington invented
the water closet, Alexander Cummings
would reinvent Haringtons water
closet. Cummings invented a device
called the strap, a sliding valve
between the bowl and the trap. It was
the first of its kind. However, it didnt
take long for others to follow.
1777: The Plunger WaterCloset is
Patented. In 1777, Samuel Prosser
applied for and received a patent for a
Thomas Twyford
revolutionized the
water closet
business in 1885
when he built the
first valveless toilet
in a one-piece, all
china design.
plunger closet. On his heels came
Joseph Bramah, only one year later.
His closet had a valve at the bottom of
the bowl that worked on a hinge a
predecessor to the modern ball valve.
Himself a bit of a sailor, Bramahs
closet was used extensively on ships
and boats of the era.
1885: Thomas Twyford Invents
the Valveless Water Closet. The mas-
ter toilet maker among the Englishmen
would emerge in the next decade.
Thomas Twyford revolutionized the
March 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 50
water closet business in 1885 when he
built the first valveless toilet in a one-
piece, all china design. A preeminent
potter, Twyford competed against
other notable business including
Wedgwood and Moulton.
The early development of pipe systems
was related to the growth of cities.
Twyfords design was unique in
that it was of china, rather than the
more common metal and wood con-
traptions. The internal workings of his
water closet were the work of one the
first pioneers of the sanitary sci-
ence, J. G. Jennings, who had patent-
ed a type of washout water closet in
1852. This unit had a shallow basin
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with a dished tray and water seal. The
flush water drove the contents into the
pan and then through the S-trap. It was
a design that Twyford refined and pro-
moted for the rest of the decade.
1785: Bell and Spigot Joint for
Cast Iron Pipe. An engineer with the
Chealsea Water Company, Sir Thomas
Simpson, invented the bell and spigot
joint which has been used extensively
ever since. It represented marked
improvement over the earliest cast iron
pipe, which used butt joints wrapped with
metal bands and a later version which
used flanges, a lead gasket and bolts.
The early development of pipe sys-
tems was related to the growth of cities.
As people began to concentrate within
confined geographical areas it became
necessary to divert water from its natural
course to provide water for drinking,
bathing, sanitation and other needs.
Ancient civilizations constructed aque-
ducts and tunnels and manufactured pipe
and tubing of clay, lead, bronze and
wood. These materials served their pur-
poses in early systems, but were fragile
or not readily available. As water pres-
sures increased and wood or clay systems
proved too fragile. They did, however,
fill a need and were used for hundreds of
years until the introduction of cast iron as
a pipe material. Copper and lead were
still also used as piping materials.
This series will continue
in the April issue.
March 2001
 The History of Plumbing
Part 2 Renaissance conveniences yield to modern sanitation
T Refining the Water Closet
his is the second installment in
an article chronicling the devel-
opment of plumbing. (Part 1
appeared in the March 2001 Plumbing
Engineer, page 45.) This effort has
been undertaken specifically to help in
understanding why todays codes may
require or not allow certain things.
Through a better understanding of
the historical roots of current practices
and attitudes, plumbing engineers and
designers, as well as code and enforce-
ment officials, may be better able to
apply fundamental principles to ever
changing conditions. Code require-
ments, tempered with wisdom and
understanding, can then be applied to
the true benefit of society.
And so we return to the story of
plumbing.
Notes From Olde England
1600 - 1700: Privies in the Castles.
The castles of the 17th century had
indoor privies. Unfortunately, the
associated plumbing systems dumped
directly into the surrounding moats.
The toilets consisted of openings in
projections of the castle walls that
were over the water below. Anyone
who dared wade across the moat
would surely die from the spread of
disease. They would also end up
smelling pretty ripe.
1859: Parliament in London
England, was suspended for a short
time because of the unbearable stench
of the Thames River. The Thames was
the sewage system, as well as the only
source of drinking water, for the more
than three million residents of the city
of London.
1861: Prince Albert, as well as thou-
sands of others, died of typhoid fever.
Sanitation soon became a public concern.
1880: Toilet paper was developed by
the British Perforated Paper Company.
Plumbing Engineer
By Ronald L. George, CIPE
1900-1932: By the turn of the cen-
tury, water closet innovations were
occurring on a nearly daily basis. The
U.S. Patent Office received applica-
tions for 350 new water closet designs
between 1900 and 1932. Two of the
first granted in the new decade were to
Charles Neff and Robert Frame. These
New Englanders were the first to pro-
duce a siphonic wash-down closet that
would become the norm in the United
States in later years.
1904: Thomas Crapper Retires.
Thomas Crapper, a British sanitary
engineer, retired from the plumbing
industry and later died, in 1910. He
has often been wrongfully credited
with inventing the water closet. The
Silent Valveless Water Waste
Preventer (No. 814) was a siphonic
discharge water closet with an over-
head tank that allowed a toilet to flush
effectively when the tank was only
half full. British Patent 4990 for 1898
was issued to a Mr. Albert Giblin for
this product.
Thomas Crapper came to be asso-
ciated with the water closet because
of his association with Giblin. He
most likely bought the patent rights
from Giblin and marketed the device
himself. Crapper owned a company
that sold plumbing products includ-
ing water closets and many other
plumbing supplies. He heavily pro-
moted the water closet as the
Waterfall model no. 1 in his plumb-
ing company advertisements. This
may be where many people in Europe
got the notion he invented the water
closet.
One of the many other products
Thomas Crapper sold was manhole
covers. I hear that many of the original
manhole covers are still in place
today. They had something like T.
Copyright 2001 TMB Publishing, Inc.
Crapper Chelsea Ironworks
engraved on the manhole lids.
Early American Sanitation
1600: Early Settlements.Although
America has become a symbol of high
standards in plumbing and sanitation,
these evolved from very primitive and
crude beginnings. Soon after America
was settled along the Atlantic Coast,
firmly established settlements devel-
oped local industries and conducted
trade with Europe. Among the numer-
ous early settlements were several
which later became major port cities,
such as Boston, New York,
Philadelphia and Baltimore. Each of
these cities faced the same general
sanitation problems and progressed in
developing sanitary standards almost
simultaneously. The following is an
account of the historical records of
these East Coast United States cities
gathered from news accounts and
other legal records. They serve as a
record of early American plumbing
history.
1626: New York Port Area Living
Conditions. Available reports of the
progressive development of sanitary
standards in New York may be cited as
typical of the East Coast cities.
Following settlement of the port area
in 1626, houses were built. None had
within them any water supply or
sewage disposal facilities. The houses
were mostly log homes made from
surrounding native trees. Drinking
water was used sparingly as it had to
Continued on page 46
About the Author
Ron George, CIPE, is ASPEs Vice
President Education and a regular contrib -
utor to Plumbing Engineer magazine, where
his Designers Guide column appears each
month. He is employed by SmithGroup Inc.
Architects, Engineers, Detroit.
April 2001/Page 45
 And Then There Was Toilet Paper The History of
Toilet paper has not been around forever. We can be pretty sure that the cave- Plumbing
man did not stop at his local mega-superstore to pick up a case of Northern or
Charmin. In fact, it is said humans are the only animals that have the dexterity to Continued from page 45
actually wipe themselves after defecation. It is currently believed that the origi-
nal materials used for cleaning were leaves and sticks. be carried from springs or wells, or
Of course, where one lived helped determine the material of choice. In coastal purchased by the bucket from water
regions, mussel shells were very popular prior to toilet papers popularity (circa peddlers who traveled through the
1900). If you were lucky enough to be raised on the Hawaiian islands, you may streets selling water from wooden bar-
have used good old coconut shells. If you were born into royalty, like Louis XIV, rels on horsedrawn trucks.
you probably would have used wool or lace for added comfort. Outdoor earth-pit privies were used
In the Mideast, the most popular tool to use today is the hand the left hand as toilet facilities. Wastes from dish-
to be specific. Of course, they cleanse their hands after this deed. To assist in the washing, clothes washing, and bathing
cleanup, many Middle Eastern restrooms have water hoses at each stool. Many were disposed of outdoors by dumping
Middle Easterners consider the Western practice of using paper to be disgusting. them onto the ground adjacent to
They cant see how paper can actually get you perfectly clean. buildings. Rainwater from roofs also
Some historians consider this the reason why we shake with our right hands was disposed of onto the ground. As
because traditionally the left hand was the dirty hand! the population of the settlement
Islamic tradition prescribes that you should wipe with stones or clods of earth, increased with the arrival of new
rinse with water, and finally dry with linen cloth. Pious men carry clods of earth immigrants, conditions deteriorated.
in their turbans and carry small pitchers of water solely for this purpose. In Shallow wells became polluted by
ancient Rome, all public toilets had a sponge attached to the end of a stick which seepage from earth-pit privies, areas
soaked in a bucket of brine (salty water). The wealthy used wool and rosewater. around homes became excessively
During the late Middle Ages, the French invented the bidet for the rinsing of fouled from sewage and refuse
both sexes (the original models did not have modern plumbing). It is said during dumped onto the ground, and streets
World War I, British and American troops found these devices in the brothels they were quagmires of mud long after
frequented, leading them to assume that they were only used by women. In other rainstorms ended.
words, men no longer use them. 1675: New York Appoints the
The material of choice in Colonial America was corn cobs. But when daily First Health Official in America.
newspapers became commonplace, in the 1700s, paper became the material of Health conditions became intolerable
choice. (One could say that Gutenbergs printing press caused the toilet paper in time and forced organization of a
revolution). In a letter to his son, Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) wrote that one Common Council in 1675. The coun-
should always carry with him a cheap copy of the Latin poets so that he would cil appointed a health officer in charge
have something educational to read while on the pot. He implied this provided a of sewage and refuse disposal and
good use for each page after reading it. This led to a major problem in England other health matters. Watertight privy
the landscape being littered with paper, as they lacked modern sewers to take vaults began to be installed instead of
the stuff away. earth-pit privies as toilet facilities.
In the late 19th century, the Sears catalog became popular in rural America. Scavenging regulations governing the
People simply hung it up on a nail and had a free supply of hundreds of pages of disposal of privy-vault wastes were
absorbent, uncoated paper. Corn cobs were still a strong second place contender, put into effect in 1676. The scavengers
however. lifted the wastes with buckets and
Use of the Sears catalog declined in the 1930s due to the fact that they started hauled it away in barrels on carts
printing on glossy, clay-coated paper. Many people complained to Sears about pulled by horses or oxen. Scavengers
this newfangled paper. (Can you imagine writing a letter to Sears? Dear Sirs, I were the predecessors to todays mod-
want to register a complaint about your new glossy catalog paper. It is no longer ern septic tank pumping services.
soft and absorbent...) 1677: New York Builds the First
The first actual paper produced for wiping was developed by the British Public Water Wells. New Yorks first
Perforated Paper Company in 1880. It consisted of individual squares sold in public water wells were projected in
boxes, not rolls, and was slow to catch on. This paper was very coarse, the type 1677 and completed in 1686. People
the British still prefer today. The original American product was sort of like crepe could draw water from these wells that
paper, which you will perhaps remember from kindergarten. Today we were located in the populated areas.
Americans like the soft, fluffy type, which was introduced in 1907. Later horsedrawn carts would deliver
In the next logical development of this evolutionary trail, several manufactur- water to the doorstep for a small fee.
ers (Toto and Panasonic, to name but two) in the late 20th century introduced per- 1687: Gutters for Muddy Streets.
sonal hygiene stations as alternatives to using toilet paper. These devices typical- Muddy streets called for gutters in
ly consist of a toilet seat, easily mounted on many standard toilets, and include New York City. Streets were paved
such things as electronically controlled warm water spouts, warm air dryers and and gutters were installed in built-up
deodorizing mist dispensers. To pamper users even more, some even offer warm- areas in 1687, and homeowners were
ing circuits in the seat. The long and short of it is that while some things never ordered to pave sidewalks. This was
change, the quests for both comfort and hygiene continue. all the result of storm water runoff
Page 46/Plumbing Engineer April 2001

The History of
Plumbing
Continued from page 46
causing muddy streets and sidewalks.
Once again, we learn from the past.
1700: New York Adopts a
Sanitary Waste Ordinance. In 1700,
a sanitary ordinance was adopted pro-
hibiting the dumping of scavengers
barrels of vault wastes into the street
gutters. They were required to go far
beyond the city to dump their smelly
cargo.
1703: New York Builds Sewage
Canals. An open-ditch public sewer or
sewage canal was constructed, and
city surveyors were appointed to
establish street and sewer grades.
1717: Open Sewers Drain into
New York Bay. Complaints arose
about the unsanitary conditions creat-
ed by the open-ditch public sewer, and
in 1717 the sewer was extended to
empty into New York Bay.
1728: New York Installs the First
Underground Sewer. The public
began to complain about the smell of
the open sewers and the health offi-
Page 48/Plumbing Engineer
cials responded by installing the first
sewer under the streets of New York.
1776: The First Water Reservoir
Constructed for New York. The first
water supply reservoir was construct-
ed in 1776. It collected water from
wells and ponds and distributed water
through a supply system consisting of
hollow, wooden logs laid under princi-
pal streets.
1778: Patent for Float Valve Type
One of the first cast iron pipe installations
was at Bethlehem, Pa., where it was used
to replace deteriorated wooden mains.
Flushing System. Joseph Brahma
receives a patent for the float and
valve flushing system. This principle
is still used in todays toilets.
1782: Stink Trap Patented. The
stink trap, as it was affectionately
named, was patented. It was a simple
s-trap design to catch some water and
eliminate the smell of sewer gas in
bathrooms. It helped reduce the smell
but still allowed some traps to siphon
and did nothing to stop the spread of
disease from untreated waste in com-
bined sewers pouring into streams,
rivers and lakes.
1794 - 1797: Epidemics Caused
Formation of More Health Boards.
Epidemics of waterborne diseases
occurred in New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore and other population cen-
ters along the Atlantic Coast. Public
pressure developed as complaints to
authorities mounted regarding the
unsanitary disposal of sewage and the
lack of an adequate, available supply
of safe drinking water. To improve
conditions, boards of health were
established in Philadelphia in 1794,
and Boston in 1797. At this time they
were not chlorinating the water to kill
bacteria. It was many years later when
we learned that simply adding chlorine
in small amounts killed the bacteria in
the drinking water. There are still
many third world countries that could
save hundreds of thousands of lives
each year by simply adding small
amounts of chlorine bleach to their
drinking water to kill bacteria.
1800s: The First Catch-Basins. As
a health protection measure, commu-
nities began to install all public sewers
underground and to extend them to
buildings, although many people con-
sidered the sewers merely as a means
of eliminating unsightly conditions.
These early underground sewers were
constructed with flat stone tops and
bottoms and brick masonry sidewalls.
They were intended to serve just for
storm water drainage from streets and
buildings, but they soon became foul
and odorous from sewage and garbage
dumped into streets gutters. In 1831,
catch-basin traps were installed in
street gutters to intercept solids con-
veyed by storm water draining into the
public sewer.
1800s: Early Cast Iron Pipe Was
Imported Into the United States.
Cast iron pipe was first used in the
United States about the beginning of
the 19th century. It was imported from
England and Scotland to be installed in
the water supply and gas lighting sys-
tems of the larger cities, principally
those in the northeastern section of the
country. One of the first cast iron pipe
installations was at Bethlehem, Pa.,
where it was used to replace deterio-
rated wooden mains. The iron industry
in the colonial United States was lim-
ited to the production of raw materials.
This iron was shipped to England
where it was remelted to manufacture
finished goods. Englands failure to
permit the colonists to manufacture
finished goods played a large part in
the United States Revolutionary War.
Eight eventual foundry owners signa-
Continued on page 50
April 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 48
tures appear on the Declaration of
Independence. As early as 1801,
Pennsylvania sought to promote
domestic manufacture of the product,
but this campaign was not successful
until 1817-1819, when production was
started at a number of charcoal furnace
plants in New Jersey. At about the
same time, a foundry located at West
Point, N.Y., also produced limited
amounts of cast iron pipe.
1817: Early Production and Use
of Cast Iron Pipe in the United
States. The first manufacturer of cast
iron pipe in the United States was
located at Weymouth, N.J. Metal
direct from the blast furnace was cast
into 16-inch diameter pipe for the city
of Philadelphia. It was used to replace
the old pine log pipe for the force main
from the pumping station to the reser-
Page 50/Plumbing Engineer
voir, although wooden pipe continued
to be used for the distribution system.
The iron was obtained by melting New
Jersey bog ore and the pipe was cast
into molds laid horizontally in the
casting beds used to cast pig iron. The
small blast furnace was tapped in the
usual manner and the stream of molten
metal filled one mold and was then
diverted to another. Production at this
foundry and at other foundries which
started to produce cast iron pipe in
1819 was strictly limited. The industry
was dormant until 1830, when a
foundry designed specifically for cast
iron pipe production was constructed
at Millville, N.J. The foundry used the
same ore and the same casting process
as that at Weymouth, but it produced
cast iron pipe on a regular basis and
had a capacity of 18,000 tons of pipe
per year. The company at Millville had
been in existence since 1803.
1830: First Water Mains Installed
Under New York Streets. In 1830,
after numerous fires had demonstrated
the need for an adequate, available
supply of water for fire fighting, New
York City installed its first public
waterworks. This consisted of a large
above ground water storage tank into
which water was pumped from shal-
low wells, and from which water was
supplied through two 12-inch cast iron
water mains to fire hydrants installed
along several of the main streets where
business buildings were located. But
this system proved to be totally inade-
quate when a severe fire broke out on
December 16, 1835. A total of 530
buildings were destroyed overnight.
Continued on page 52
April 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 50
New York, Philadelphia,
Boston Fires
The population of the New World
continued to rise as shiploads of
immigrants stepped ashore looking for
a fresh start in a new land. Cities
began to take shape, and the problems
multiplied as more and more struc-
tures were added. The fire load in
these cities increased as forests were
cleared and wooden homes and build-
ings were constructed.
The communities that sprang up
around three of the best harbors
Boston, New York and Philadelphia
soon faced a number of social
problems involving housing, sanita-
tion, water supply and the danger of
fire. These three cities set the course
early on as to the direction of the early
fire codes.
In 1648, New Amsterdam (later
New York) Governor Peter Stuyvesant
stood firmly on his peg leg and
appointed four men to act as fire war-
dens. They were empowered to
inspect all chimneys and to fine any
violators of the rules. The city resi-
dents later appointed eight prominent
citizens to the Rattle Watch. These
men volunteered to patrol the streets
at night carrying large wooden rattles.
If a fire was seen, the men spun the
rattles, then directed the responding
citizens to form bucket brigades. This
is generally recognized as the first
step in organized firefighting in
America.
Even earlier, Bostons city fathers
took the first steps in fire prevention
when Governor John Winthrop out-
lawed wooden chimneys and thatched
roofs in 1631. Forty years later,
Boston suffered a series of arson fires
and finally a conflagration in 1676.
The small engine built by local iron-
maker, a syringe-type pump, had little
effect on the swelling wall of flames.
Shortly after the fire, Bostonians sent
for a state of the art fire engine then
being made in England. The tub-like
tank section of the engine was kept
filled with water by a bucket brigade.
The disastrous fire of 1835 in New
Page 52/Plumbing Engineer
York City stirred the people into action
and led to developments of great sig-
nificance and benefit. People became
aware of the necessity for having an
adequate pressurized water supply sys-
tem readily and constantly available
for fire fighting in built-up areas. They
also realized there was a great need,
both as a sanitary measure and as a
laborsaving convenience, for having
an adequate pressurized water supply
system from which safe drinking water
could be piped directly to buildings.
Soon after the fire, plans were project-
ed for providing a large public water
supply system that would satisfy both
of these needs.
The fire service has long viewed
old-style factory buildings as a serious
fire hazard. Many of the worst fires
during the late 1800s and early 1900s
happened in factory buildings. Some
are more famous than others. A 1910
fire in a Newark, N.J., clothing factory
killed 24 workers, and there were
countless others. All had life-safety
problems but there were no codes or
laws addressing fire resistive construc-
tion or life safety.
The fires in New York City taught us
a lesson about fire prevention, building
egress, sizing water mains and many
other life-safety issues that engineers
still refer to today.
1842: New Yorks Aqueduct
Placed in Service. In 1842 the original
Croton Aqueduct System was placed in
operation. In this system, water from
the Croton River was collected in
Croton Reservoir, 40 miles north of the
city. It was supplied from there
through an underground piping system
to two reservoirs in the city, one at
42nd Street and another in Central
Park. From those reservoirs, water was
distributed through a system of cast-
iron water mains installed underground
in city streets, and fire hydrants were
installed in sidewalks at appropriate
locations along the curb. Building
owners were permitted to have water
service connections made to the public
main, and water service piping extend-
ed from the main to supply faucets or
hydrants in building cellars or yards.
At that time the population of the city
of New York was about 300,000.
Indoor Plumbing in America
1842: New York City Installs
Water Piping to Buildings. Upon
completion of the Croton Aqueduct
System and pressurized water services
into building cellars and yards in New
York City in 1842, a radical change in
building construction took place the
installation of plumbing systems in
buildings. Pressurized water supply
systems made it possible to satisfy, at
the turn of a faucet, the needs of build-
ing occupants for a safe and abundant
supply of water for all domestic pur-
poses and to eliminate the drudgery,
labor and inconvenience of having to
carry water from the source. No
plumbing fixtures had been installed in
buildings prior to this time, except for
a few crude sink installations reported-
ly installed in kitchens that were pro-
vided with water supply by means of
an adjacent hand pump that drew
water from a shallow well.
1845 - 1850: Drainage Piping
Installed in Buildings. As late as
1845, records indicate that buildings
were not provided with interior
drainage piping systems. Most build-
ings were equipped with exterior lead-
ers that conveyed storm water from
roofs to pavements and sidewalks
from which the water ran into the
street gutters. In some cases, where
branches had been installed from the
public sewer to buildings, the exterior
leaders discharged directly into such
branches or building sewers.
Before fixtures could be installed
with water supply and drainage piping
systems, building sewers had to be
installed so as to convey sewage away
from the buildings to a suitable dispos-
al terminal, such as a public sewer sys-
tem. In 1845 New York City permitted
sanitary building sewers to be connect-
ed to the existing public sewer system,
which had originally been provided for
just storm water disposal. These build-
ing sewers, and the main drains
Continued on page 54
April 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 52
installed underground in buildings at
the time, were constructed with flat
stone tops and brick masonry bottoms
and sidewalls. They still had flat-bot-
tomed sewers. And when they allowed
the connection of sanitary sewers to
the storm sewers, many solids started
to settle out in the bottoms of the sew-
ers. They had not discovered the
hydraulic advantages of round or egg
shaped sewers.
1845 - 1850: Plumbing Fixtures
Installed in New York City
Buildings. By 1850, plumbing fix-
tures had been installed in a number of
New York City homes. These were
principally private residences owned
by wealthy people who could afford to
alter their buildings to accommodate
such facilities. Provision had to be
made to protect the fixtures and piping
against frost damage by means of heat-
ing equipment, insulation or both.
Earliest installations consisted of
wooden and sheet metal sinks in
kitchens, wooden washtubs in
kitchens, cellars or basement laundry
rooms, and sheet-metal bathtubs in
special bathrooms or closets.
For these early installations, water
supply and drainage piping were
attached to building walls and either
left exposed in rooms or concealed in
box work. A handmade trap was
installed in the drain of each individual
fixture to prevent escape of obnoxious
odors and sewer gases from fixture
waste outlets. However, at that time,
the principle of venting fixture drains
to protect trap seals was unknown.
These traps often lost their water seals
because of siphonage and back-pres-
sure conditions in the drainage system,
and this caused fouling of the atmos-
phere of rooms in which fixtures were
placed. Check valves and many spe-
cially designed traps were installed in
efforts to prevent loss of trap seal, but
such devices were found to be totally
ineffective.
1845 - 1860: Development of the
Toilet Room in America.
Nevertheless, progress was made in
the installation of plumbing systems in
Page 54/Plumbing Engineer
buildings. Fixtures were placed in
locations where they would not be too
objectionable. Sinks and washtubs
were put in kitchens and basements.
Lavatories and bathtubs were located
on various floors and connected to
separate stacks. Long hopper water
closets, so named because of their fun-
nel or long hopper shape, were
installed in toilet rooms or compart-
ments accessible only from outdoors,
because it was considered hazardous
to health for rooms which housed such
odorous fixtures to be directly accessi-
ble from the interior of buildings. The
hopper type water closet was installed
so as to be relatively frost-proof by
placing the trap and water supply
valve below the floor level. There was
little or no consideration for backflow
or cross connections in the early instal-
lations.
In the late 1850s, people became
more and more aware of the need for
improving sanitary standards in and
adjacent to buildings. Recognition was
given to the fact that plumbing sys-
tems in buildings could provide ade-
quate safe water for drinking, cooking,
bathing, and for flushing fixtures and
also could safely and efficiently dis-
pose of sewage and other wastes from
buildings. Extensions were built on
many homes specifically to provide
bathrooms at the upper stories of exist-
ing buildings. Lavatories, bathtubs,
and water closets were installed in
these extension bathrooms, many of
which were also provided with heating
equipment. Double doors were placed
in passageways between extension
bathrooms and the main building in
order to prevent bathroom odors and
sewer gases from entering the living
quarters.
1848: National Public Health Act
Passed. A model plumbing code was
enacted that most of the world has
adapted and continues to follow.
1850: Casting Process for Cast
Iron Pipe Improved. Prior to the
early 1850s, horizontal green sand
molds and dry sand or loam cores were
used exclusively to produce cast iron
pipe. By 1854, the cast-on-end-in-
pit principle of pipe manufacture,
using dry sand molds and dry sand
cores, started to gain wide acceptance
for the production of pressure pipe. It
was introduced by George Peacock,
who is also credited with inventing the
drop pattern used in machine molding,
and the application of core arbors to
the green sand molding of fittings.
Vertical casting was used to produce
pressure pipe in 12-foot lengths, while
horizontal molds continued to be used
for shorter lengths of pressure pipe. A
green sand core was developed for use
with the horizontal mold, and this was
the first method employed to manufac-
ture cast iron soil pipe.
As the demand for cast iron pipe
increased, eastern Pennsylvania and
the adjoining sections of New Jersey
developed as the earliest site of the
industry, with the largest works locat-
ed in the immediate vicinity of
Philadelphia. The plants in eastern
Pennsylvania used anthracite coal to
reduce iron ore.
1860s: The First Multi-Family
Housing Built in East Coast Cities.
Directly following the Civil War,
immigration swelled the populations
of industrial cities in the eastern part of
the country. In many cities, rows of
attached three- and four-tenement
houses were built to take care of the
additional population. These buildings
were provided just with yard hydrants
for drinking water supply, while toilet
facilities consisted of rows of privies
built above watertight privy vaults
located in the backyards of the build-
ings. Extremely objectionable, unsani-
tary conditions soon developed under
such circumstances. Health authorities
had to take stringent action to halt the
spread of disease. To protect the health
of building occupants, the public was
alerted to the necessity of equipping
buildings with adequate means for
supplying safe drinking water for
domestic purposes and with adequate
facilities for sanitary disposal of
sewage. Health authorities advocated
Continued on page 56
April 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 54
the installation of plumbing systems in
buildings, and as a result this became a
subject of regulation in sanitary codes.
1861: Cast Iron Pipe
Manufacturing Plants Built in
Western Pennsylvania and Ohio.
When coke made from bituminous
coal was widely adopted, cast iron pipe
manufacturing was started in Western
Pennsylvania and Ohio.
1861 - 1865: The Civil War. During
the Civil War, fighting militias consist-
ing of tradesmen and farmers from all
parts of the country spent a great deal
of time conversing with people from
other parts of the country. This allowed
for many soldiers that were otherwise
too poor to travel to far off places to
experience conditions in other parts of
the country. The massive war effort
caused large numbers of soldiers to be
together in areas that had no facilities.
This highlighted the need for improved
sanitary conditions. Many friendships
were formed and many of these sol-
diers were later the plumbers and
tradesmen that would help form asso-
ciations from their contacts during the
war.
1870s: The First WaterHeaters. In
the early 1870s, water-supplied
kitchen sinks came into general use in
private homes and other small build-
ings. Fireboxes of coal-fired kitchen
ranges were equipped with water jack-
eted backs and water jacketed fronts,
and circulation piping was installed
between these water-heating units and
hot water storage tanks so as to make
pressurized hot water available in vol-
ume at fixtures. The use of outdoor
privies and privy vaults for private
homes was discontinued gradually as
indoor water closets, directly connect-
ed to building drains, were installed in
toilet rooms accessible from back-
yards.
In the late 1800s through the early
1900s, there were numerous water
heater and boiler explosions that took
many lives. Many water heaters were
installed with pressure relief valves,
but there were still boiler failures that
caused explosions. Later designs
Page 56/Plumbing Engineer
called for a pressure relief valve and a
temperature relief valve to eliminate
the danger of an explosion.
1872: Fire Hose Threads
Standardized in the United States.
The need for securing uniformity and
interchangeability of fire hose cou-
pling threads was demonstrated by the
Boston conflagration of November
1872. Fire departments from many dif-
ferent cities responded to the Boston
fire only to discover their hose threads
did not match the hose connections on
Bostons hydrants and fire engines.
The following year, standardization
was proposed by the International
Association of Fire Engineers (IAFE),
now the International Association of
Fire Chiefs (IAFC). In subsequent
years, various suggested standard
threads were considered. IAFE pre-
pared a report that was later adopted at
its 1891 convention in which the pre-
sent principal dimensions for 2-1/2-
inch fire hose coupling screw threads
were suggested, but no specifications
for the shape of thread were included.
Little more was done toward standard-
ization until difficulties with nonstan-
dard threads were encountered by fire
departments called to assist at the
Baltimore conflagration of 1904. The
following year the National Fire
At a Master Plumbers conference in 1874,
the theory was introduced that air
pressure in the drain and at the outlet
of a fixture trap had to be the same.
Protection Association (NFPA) took
up the project actively, appointing a
Committee on Standard Thread for
Fire Hose Couplings. The NFPA com-
mittee developed general screw thread
specifications covering the 2-1/2-inch,
3-inch, 3-1/2-inch and 4-1/2-inch
sizes, using as a basis the earlier report
of the IAFE committee and working
with the active cooperation of the
American Water Works Association
(AWWA). The principal dimensions
for the 2-1/2-inch couplings were 7-
1/2 threads per inch and 3-1/16-inch
outside diameter of the external
thread (ODM). This was selected to
facilitate conversion of existing cou-
plings, the majority of which had
either seven or eight threads per inch,
and 3-inch or 3-1/3-inch outside
diameter measurements. During the
years that followed, until 1917, this
committee worked diligently to
secure recognition of these specifica-
tions as a National Standard and
their adoption by cities and towns
throughout the United States. Its
efforts were rewarded with consider-
able success, and, in addition, as
many as 20 organizations officially
approved and adopted the standard.
The specification, now known as
NFPA 1964, was also published by
the National Board of Fire
Underwriters (NBFU) in 1911, the
American Society of Mechanical
Engineers (ASME) in 1913, the U.S.
Bureau of Standards as Circular No.
50 (1914 and 1917), and the AWWA.
Between 1920 and 1923, a series of
conferences were held that were
attended by representatives of the
manufacturers of fire hose couplings,
the National Board of Fire
Underwriters, the National Screw
Thread Commission (NSTC), and the
ASME. These resulted in an agree-
ment concerning the standardization
of screw thread tolerances,
allowances, and methods of gauging.
Efforts to bring about the general
Continued on page 59
April 2001
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 56

adoption of the standard throughout to prevent objectionable odors and could be Indoor Plumbing.
the country were continued. sewer gases from escaping at fixture
1874: The Venting Theory Was waste outlets and fouling the atmos-
Proved. A major obstacle to more phere in buildings. To me this is one of
rapid introduction of plumbing sys- the most important advances in mod-
tems in buildings was the fact that, as ern plumbing history. Now, there This series will continue
in the May issue.
late as 1874, no method was known
for preventing fixture trap seals from
being lost because of siphonage and
back pressure conditions in the
drainage system. Where fixture trap
seals were lost, objectionable odors
and sewer gases escaped from the sys-
tem at fixture outlets and fouled the
atmosphere of rooms in buildings. A
significant instance of this occurred
when a plumbing system was installed
in a large, new private dwelling in
New York City in 1874. Soon after
occupying the building, the owner
complained to the plumbing contractor
that the stench of sewer gas from fix-
tures in the building was unbearable.
After receiving this complaint, the
plumbing contractor discussed it at a
conference with other New York City
master and journeymen plumbers. At a
Master Plumbers conference in 1874,
the theory was introduced that air pres-
sure in the drain and at the outlet of a
fixture trap had to be the same.
Keeping the pressure outdoors in bal-
ance with the pressure at the inlet of
the trap could be maintained by means
of a vent pipe. The vent pipe could be
connected to the drain at the trap out-
let and extended to atmospheric pres-
sure outdoors. By doing this, air could
flow freely into or out of the drain in
response to pressure variations in the
drain. The venting theory was tested
shortly after the conference by con-
tractors and journeymen in the field
and was proved to be correct.
However, numerous details of vent-
piping installation and sizing had to be
determined by further testing and field
experience before continuous, satis-
factory performance of vent piping
was assured. Nevertheless, the princi-
ple of venting sanitary drainage sys-
tems by means of vent pipes, to protect
fixture trap seals against loss by
siphonage and backpressure, was
established. The way had been found

Plumbing Engineer April 2001/Page 59

 The History of Plumbing
Part 3 Indoor plumbing on the rise
T
his is the third installment in an
article chronicling the develop-
ment of plumbing. (Parts 1 and
2 appeared in the March and April
2001 issues of Plumbing Engineer.)
This effort has been undertaken specif-
ically to help in understanding some of
the requirements and prohibitions
found in todays plumbing, building
and fire protection codes.
As we have already seen, conditions
certainly have changed over time.
Combining our constantly improving
understanding of how things work
with evolving technology has enabled
civilization to reach the point at which
we now find ourselves. Through fur-
ther application of this understanding
and technology, using the wisdom
gained by studying our historical
roots, we can help shape future code
provisions to enhance the quality of
life.
With those lofty thoughts in mind,
we return to the story of plumbing.
The American Adventure
Continues
1875: The Venting Principle is
Publicized. News of the development
of the principle of venting sanitary
drainage systems spread rapidly to all
parts of the country. Detailed informa-
tion on vent-piping installation, test
reports and experience with systems in
service were carried in trade publica-
tions, association reports and newspa-
pers at the time. A major breakthrough
had been achieved in knowledge of the
design of plumbing systems in build-
About the Author
Ron George, CIPE, is ASPEs Vice
President Education and a regular contrib -
utor to Plumbing Engineer magazine, where
his Designers Guide column appears each
month. He is employed by SmithGroup Inc.
Architects, Engineers, Detroit.
Page 50/Plumbing Engineer
By Ronald L. George, CIPE
ings that made it possible to locate
plumbing fixtures inside without foul-
ing the atmosphere. Objections to
installing plumbing systems in build-
ings rapidly vanished, and plumbing
installation proceeded at a greatly
accelerated rate.
Within a few years, kitchen sinks
were installed in each dwelling unit in
tenement houses. Owners of private
homes began to have kitchen sinks put
in, followed soon after by laundry
trays, then bathtubs, and later lavato-
ries placed in appropriate locations for
convenient use. About 1880, the use
of privies and privy vaults in the back-
yards of tenement houses was discon-
tinued. In their place batteries of hop-
per-type water closets, directly con-
nected to building drains, were
installed in either backyards or cellars.
Similarly, at schools privies and privy
vaults were removed. They were
replaced by installation of trough-type
water closets, known as school sinks,
directly connected to building drains.
Their fixtures were provided in sepa-
rate school yard toilet buildings.
1880s: NAPHCC Formed. During
the 1880s, a national plumbing con-
tractors organization was formed to
continue the efforts of providing safe
plumbing systems. The association
has undergone many name changes
over the years and is now called the
Plumbing, Heating and Cooling
Contractors - National Association.
1880 - 1890: Growth and
Dispersion of Cast Iron Foundries.
Prior to 1880, the foundries of New
Jersey and Pennsylvania supplied the
great majority of the nations cast iron
pipe requirements, but during 1880-
1890, production spread to the South
and the Midwest. The advance in
municipal improvements in these
areas and the dispersion of the pig iron
industry encouraged the location of
Copyright 2001 TMB Publishing, Inc.
plants closer to the new markets and
in places where pig iron and fuel costs
were low. The largest number of cast
iron pipe foundries built during this
decade were located in the southern
and mid-western sections of the coun-
try. Most of these were of compara-
tively large capacity, so that by 1890,
the share of total output by the
foundries of New Jersey and
Pennsylvania had declined to 43 per-
cent.
During the census year 1890, there
were 33 establishments in the United
States engaged principally in the man-
ufacture of cast iron pipe. The rapid
growth of the industry between 1880
and 1890 was indicated by the large
number of foundries constructed dur-
ing that period.
1881: Building Sewers Improve
Living Conditions. By 1881, the
health protection benefits of sanitary
plumbing systems in buildings were
clearly recognized by health officials
in cities. Prior to this time, in New
York City, 90 percent of all human
wastes had to be disposed of by
removing such wastes from privy
vaults and transporting them through
buildings, along city streets to docks,
and then out to sea where they were
dumped. This method of sewage dis-
posal was a severe health hazard and
had to be eliminated. Sanitary plumb-
ing systems in buildings was the
answer. People in cities knew this
from hard experience. They began to
rely upon plumbing facilities for
improved sanitary conditions, and to
reduce their daily work and increase
their enjoyment of living.
For economy in installations, sinks
and laundry trays were grouped
together in kitchens; and water clos-
ets, bathtubs, and lavatories were
grouped together in bathrooms. This
was possible to do in cities with pub-
May 2001
lic water supply and sewage disposal
systems. But in rural areas, having no
such public systems available for
building connection, homes had no
plumbing facilities. The only water
supplies for sanitary purposes for
building occupants in such areas were
outdoor brick lined, earth-pit wells.
The outhouse was still common in
rural areas. Portable washtubs and
bathtubs were used either indoors or
under an outdoor shed in most areas.

Enameled Horse Trough Sold as

Bathtub
A manufacturer of horse drinking
troughs and hog scalding troughs
named John Michael Kohler had a
small manufacturing company in
Wisconsin. He included the trough in
his catalog, describing it as a horse
trough/hog scalder. (Acommon prac-
tice when butchering hogs in those
days was to scald the carcass in boiling
water to help remove the tough skin.)
A local farmer approached Mr. Kohler
and asked if he could takes a horse
trough/hog scalder, heat it up to 1700
degrees Fahrenheit and cover it with
enamel powder. The enamel powder
would melt to a smooth glassy finish
that would not rust. When the hog
trough was coated with an enamel
coating and furnished with four legs, it
made the perfect bathtub. The first
bathtub was sold to a local farmer for
a cow and 14 chickens. Troughs soon
give way to more stylized bathtubs
with rolled rims and brass fittings.
1890: In 1890, Robert Manning
proposed the Manning Formula
which allowed engineers to calculate
flows in sloping drains. The formula
was developed for calculating open
channel flow, but it is suitable for and
often used to calculate the capacity of
sloping sanitary and storm drains.
1890s: The Washdown Water
Closet and Cast-Iron Bathtub. In the
1890s, two important fixture develop-
ments, combined with newly available
gas and electric public utility systems
laid under city streets, aided in further
Continued on page 52
Plumbing Engineer May 2001/Page 51

The History of
Plumbing
Continued from page 51
expanding the use of plumbing systems in buildings. The
first water closet design considered to be really sanitary was
introduced about 1890 with the development of the wash
down water closet. Almost simultaneously, the freestand-
ing, white-enameled cast iron bathtub appeared. They were
hailed as important new sanitary advances, as they were
reasonably priced, mass-produced fixtures which home-
owners desired. The smooth surfaces of these fixtures did
not harbor bacteria and were easy to clean. These new
smooth finishes on these fixtures helped to reduce odors,
spread of diseases and they improved sanitary conditions.
1890s: New Gas Mains Allowed Installation of Gas
Fired Water Heaters. Doctors and health authorities advo-
cated the expanded use of hot water as a sanitary measure
and proclaimed the health benefits of bathing. The ready
availability of public utility gas supply systems, which had
been newly laid under city streets, aided in expanding the
use of hot water supply systems in buildings and the instal-
lation of gas-fired water heaters. The availability of public
utility systems for supplying electricity for light and power
in buildings made possible the installation of efficient elec-
tric pumps for pumping water to plumbing fixtures at any
height. It was at this time that skyscraper-type office build-
ings were first erected in New York City, Chicago,
Philadelphia and other major cities. These buildings were
equipped with plumbing systems that performed satisfacto-
Page 52/Plumbing Engineer
rily, and unobjectionable and suitable kinds and numbers of
fixtures were provided in convenient locations for building
occupants.
1900s: Minimum Requirements for Number of
Fixtures. At the start of the 20th century, laws had already
been enacted in many areas of the country requiring the
installation of plumbing systems in buildings and the provi-
sion of suitable kinds and numbers of fixtures in convenient
locations for the use of building occupants. In general, such
areas were large municipalities where public water supply
and public sewer systems were available for building con-
nections. In areas beyond the limits of public systems, it
was deemed unreasonable to require installations of plumb-
ing systems and fixtures. Nevertheless, people desired san-
itary plumbing facilities and sought to equip their buildings
with appropriate systems.
1900s: Key Developments in WaterHeating. Hot water
supply was especially desired as manufacturers publicized
The first water closet design
considered to be really
sanitary was introduced about
1890 with the development of
the wash down water closet.
their new developments in water heater equipment. Coal-
and gas-fired sidearm water heaters appeared on the scene.
Automatic controls were developed to eliminate the dan-
gers associated with manual operation of water heaters, and
range boiler manufacturers introduced tanks made of sever-
al different materials with greater durability. Later pressure
and temperature relief valves would be required on all
heaters to prevent explosions when the burners failed in the
on position.
1900s: Unsanitary Conditions Caused Building Codes
to be Updated. Many new tenements were erected in large
industrial cities to house the swelling populations. These
buildings had sinks and laundry trays in each dwelling unit,
but water closets were provided in toilet compartments
accessible from the public hallways on each floor. In many
cases, more than one family used the toilet facilities. It was
soon apparent that such arrangements were inadequate and
objectionable and fostered unsanitary conditions. Health
authorities put new regulations into effect requiring water
closets to be installed in toilet rooms or bathrooms in each
dwelling unit. Strenuous efforts were made to bring exist-
ing buildings up to existing standards.
1906: American Society of Sanitary Engineering is
Organized. The American Society of Sanitary Engineering
(ASSE) grew out of a meeting held in Washington D.C.,
January 29-31, 1906. Henry B. Davis, chief plumbing
inspector for the District of Columbia, believed it was vital
that the plumbing practice in the United States be standard-
May 2001
ized. Mr. Davis invited 25 inspectors
from other American cities to organize
an association of plumbing inspectors
and sanitary engineers. The fundamen-
tal principle they decided to follow
was Prevention Rather Than Cure.
This principle still guides the society
today. ASSEs activities and programs
were and still are designed to develop
plumbing standards and educate the
industry and the public on the impor-
tance of safe and correct plumbing
installations.
1911: The Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory Fire in New York. In 1911 a
fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist
Company in New York City marked a
turning point in how fire codes
addressed industrial and manufactur-
ing occupancies. Chief Edward Croker
of the New York Fire Department had
long sought improvements in the
building codes to bring about more fire
resistive construction and changes in
factory laws, because of such early
fires as the Parker Building. Three
firemen were killed in a massive col-
lapse within this 20-story fireproof with a wall of fire racing up the stairs. outraged. This fire had proved Chief
building. His pleas fell on deaf ears Others moved toward another exit, but Croker correct. More was needed than
and the resulting catastrophe, which were blocked by a locked door. When just fire suppression.
killed scores of innocent young immi- they were finally able to force it, they After an intense investigation, a
grants, will long live in the annals of found that it opened inward. By this number of changes were instituted. A
history. time, there were so many people push- new bureau of fire prevention was cre-
The Triangle Shirtwaist Company ing toward the door that the door was ated in the fire department. Labor laws
was located at 23 Washington Place in jammed shut; people began piling up were passed outlawing many of the
lower Manhattan. The workforce was at this point. practices that had led to the large num-
primarily made up of young, female Very few workers knew that the ber of deaths in the fire. In the wake of
immigrants, who labored under classic freight elevator was still working. A this tragedy, work began on the codes
sweatshop conditions. More than number of young girls faced with the that eventually led to what we know
500 workers were jammed into the prospect of a horrible death by fire today as the building code and Life
eighth and ninth floors of the 10-story chose to leap to their deaths from win- Safety Code.
building, which was supposedly built dows on the eight and ninth floors. 1915: Building Officials and Code
from fire-resistive materials. Others managed to make it to the roof, Administrators Organization
About 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, and a small number were able to make Formed. In 1915 a group of building
March 25, 1911, a fire started in a rag their way over ladders to the New inspectors got together in New York
bin on the eighth floor. It spread rapid- York University Law School next and formed an organization called the
ly through the mix of combustible door. Building Officials and Code
cloth, and soon wooden cutting tables Bells in New York fire stations Administrators (BOCA). This was the
and other fixtures were ablaze. One began to toll the alarm. But the prob- first group to get together to concen-
group of workers grabbed the stand- lems were many. The streets were lit- trate on coordinating building codes on
pipe hose line and attempted to extin- tered with bodies, making apparatus a national level. Two other organiza-
guish the fire. They quickly found that placement difficult. Ladders could not tions soon formed. The Southern
the hose was rotted and the valves cor- reach the fire or the roof. Building Code Congress International
roded shut. Word of the fire soon Once lines were in position, the fire (SBCCI) was formed in the South and
began to pass through the workers was quickly extinguished. The horri- the Council of American Building
jammed into the loft building. Workers ble toll was 146 people who leaped to Officials (CABO) was formed in the
surged toward the exits with which their deaths or were burned or crushed West. The Southern and Western areas
they were familiar. They were met to death in the panic. The public was Continued on page 56
Plumbing Engineer May 2001/Page 53
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 53
of the country wanted immediate com-
munication and local control when it
came to code issues. In those days,
transportation was inadequate and a
trip from coast to coast took almost
five days. Today everyone is just a
phone call or email away. This may be
why the three building code organiza-
Page 56/Plumbing Engineer
tions decided to form the International
Code Council and jointly publish the
International Building Codes. The
International Codes are the first full
family of building, fire, mechanical,
electrical, plumbing, energy, fuel gas,
property maintenance and several
other codes that were correlated to
work together as a full set of codes.
1918: American National
Standards Institute Founded. The
American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) has served in its capacity as
administrator and coordinator of the
United States private sector, voluntary
standardization system for 80 years.
Founded in 1918 by five engineering
societies and three government agen-
cies, the Institute remains a private,
nonprofit membership organization
supported by a diverse constituency of
private and public sector organiza-
tions.
Throughout its history, the ANSI
federation has maintained as its prima-
ry goal the enhancement of global
competitiveness of U.S. business and
the American quality of life by pro-
moting and facilitating voluntary con-
sensus standards and conformity
assessment systems and promoting
their integrity. The Institute represents
the interests of its nearly 1,400 compa-
ny, organization, government agency,
institutional and international mem-
bers through its headquarters in New
York City, and its satellite office in
Washington, D.C.
ANSI does not itself develop
American National Standards; rather it
facilitates development by establish-
ing consensus among qualified groups.
The Institute ensures that its guiding
principles consensus, due process
and openness are followed by the
more than 175 distinct entities current-
ly accredited under one of the federa-
tions three methods of accreditation
(organization, committee or canvass).
In 1996 alone, the number of
American National Standards
increased by nearly 4 percent to a new
total of 13,056 approved American
National Standards. ANSI-accredited
developers are committed to support-
ing the development of national and,
in many cases international standards,
addressing the critical trends of tech-
nological innovation, marketplace
globalization and regulatory reform.
This series will continue
in the June issue.
May 2001
 The History of Plumbing
Part 4 Modern plumbing enhances the American way of life
T
his is the fourth installment in
an article chronicling the devel-
opment of plumbing. (Parts 1, 2
and 3 appeared in the March, April and
May 2001 issues of Plumbing
Engineer.) This effort has been under-
taken specifically to help in under-
standing some of the requirements and
prohibitions found in todays plumb-
ing, building and fire protection codes.
A second, though not necessarily
secondary, reason for relating this his-
tory is to remind us of the bold and
necessary steps taken by our predeces-
sors. And although western civiliza-
tion rounding the corner into the 21st
century gives lip service to the concept
of continuous improvement, change is
still deeply resented, if not actively
resisted.
Technological improvement in the
human condition is always limited by
societys willingness to see these
improvements come into being.
However, with a long record of suc-
cesses to build upon, we can take hope
that our efforts today will benefit gen-
erations to come.
We proceed with the conclusion, for
now, of the history of plumbing.
Progress and Increased
Comfort
1920s: Post World War Building
Boom. Following World War I and
continuing through the early 1920s,
the large industrial cities expanded
tremendously. New housing develop-
ments were built on the fringes of
cities, and public water supply, sewer,
About the Author
Ron George, CIPE, is ASPEs Vice
President Education and a regular contrib -
utor to Plumbing Engineer magazine, where
his Designers Guide column appears each
month. He is employed by SmithGroup Inc.
Architects, Engineers, Detroit.
Page 48/Plumbing Engineer
By Ronald L. George, CIPE
and utility systems were extended to
serve the new buildings. All these
were equipped with the most modern
plumbing systems and fixtures of the
day. Complete bathroom installations,
consisting of a water closet, lavatory,
and bathtub with an overhead shower,
were provided in each dwelling unit
along with modern kitchen sinks and
laundry trays. The growing impor-
tance of sanitary plumbing systems in
buildings was shown by large-scale
Only one percent of U.S. homes had
electricity and indoor plumbing in 1921,
when Herbert Hoover was appointed
Secretary of Commerce.
plumbing installations in hotels, office
buildings, factories, food processing
plants, and dairy buildings. Most
buildings were provided with more
plumbing equipment than was
required by law. Multi-story residen-
tial buildings in great numbers were
erected in the central parts of cities
where land values were very high.
They too were fully equipped with
complete bathroom, kitchen, and laun-
dry fixtures of modern and sanitary
design. Many were equipped with col-
ored plumbing fixtures, which were
introduced in the middle 1920s. But
this tremendous new building con-
struction wave reached its peak in
1929 and came to a sudden halt in
1930 when the severe business
depression occurred.
1921: Herbert Hoover Appointed
as Secretary of Commerce. In 1921,
President Warren Harding appointed a
very prominent engineer, Herbert
Hoover, as Secretary of Commerce.
Hoover as an engineer saw the poten-
Copyright 2001 TMB Publishing, Inc.
tial for a post war boost in the United
States if he could only implement
some good engineering planning con-
cepts across the nation. Hoover want-
ed prosperity for all. At the time of his
appointment only one percent of the
homes in the country had electricity
and indoor plumbing. Hoover started
the Materials and Structures division
of the National Bureau of Standards
(now known as The National Institute
of Standards and Technology, or
NIST). The person who headed up the
plumbing division of the National
Bureau of Standards was Dr. Roy B.
Hunter. Dr. Hunter dedicated his tal-
ents to the research of plumbing sys-
tems in an effort to standardize regula-
tions in the United States.
1926: IAPMO Began as the
Plumbing Inspectors Association of
Southern California. In 1926, 42
plumbing inspectors banded together
to bring about an improvement in the
application of common-sense codifi-
cation and application of ordinances
based on scientific knowledge. In
1932 the group published the
Standard Plumbing Code. The organi-
zation still writes codes and publishes
the Uniform Plumbing Code and the
Uniform Mechanical Code. Today this
organization is known as the
International Association of Plumbing
and Mechanical Officials and is work-
ing with the National Fire Protection
Association to develop a full family of
codes.
June 2001
 1928: The First Plumbing Code is Cleaning Machine. In 1933, Samuel started to require clean-outs at offsets
Published. Because of Hoovers O. Blanc invents the electric sewer at distances that would allow Mr.
efforts with The National Bureau of cleaning machine using a 1/6 hp Blancs machine to perform its task of
Standards, when the first plumbing Maytag washing machine motor. For cleaning clogged drain piping.
code was developed in 1928 it was the first time, drains could be cleared 1935 - 1940: Electricity Extended
nicknamed the Hoover Code. The without having to dig up the ground. to Rural Areas. During this period,
code was not named after Hoover Soon after this, clean-outs were the public utility systems around the
because he worked on the code, but installed in drain pipes to aid in clean-
rather because he saw the need to ing the pipes. Later, plumbing codes Continued on page 50
develop the code. The code was updat-
ed in 1932 and Dr. Hunter continued
his research and work on plumbing
through the 1930s.
1930s: The Depression
Inadequate Systems Corrected.
Relatively few new buildings were
erected during the 1930s until the lat-
ter part of the decade. This period was
devoted principally to the correction
and modernization of plumbing sys-
tems and equipment in existing build-
ings. Important corrections were made
to the potable water supply systems of
buildings to eliminate all water supply
piping connections and fixture supply
connections which were recognized as
potential sources of contamination.
This drive for correction of systems
was led by health officials, water sup-
ply officials and building officials to
avoid repetition of the amoebic dysen-
tery epidemic which occurred in the
city of Chicago during its worlds fair
in 1933.
Other important improvements
were made in the hot water supply sys-
tems in existing buildings. Many were
equipped with modern, automatically
controlled hot water heaters designed
for use with gas, oil or electricity as a
source of heat.
1932: Hunter Releases Report on
Plumbing Flow in Drainage Stacks.
In 1932, Dr. Roy B. Hunter published
a report of the subcommittee on
plumbing of the building code com-
mittee, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of Standards,
BH13, (1932). Hunter described the
flow of waste in drain stacks including
the cohesive effects of water clinging
to the inside wall of the drainage
stacks up to a certain point. Then the
water peels away and causes slugs of
water that act as pistons and create
severe pressure fluctuations in the
drainage system.
1933: Invention of Sewer

Plumbing Engineer June 2001/Page 49

 The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 49
country extended their electric supply
lines into a great portion of the rural
area. This provided a source of power
for pumping water from wells and for
supplying plumbing systems with all
the water needed to maintain the sani-
tary standards that were enjoyed in the
cities. Private sewage disposal sys-
tems were provided by means of
underground septic tank and leaching
field installations in appropriate loca-
In 1932, Dr. Roy B. Hunter described the
flow of waste in drain stacks, followed in
1940 by BMS 66 Plumbing Manual, which
served as the basis for modern plumbing
codes at the time.
tions. In this way, modern sanitary
plumbing systems and fixtures became
available even in the remote regions of
the country.
1940s: ASSE and the Plumbing
Industry Search for the Cause of
Polio. In the 1940s the American
Society of Sanitary Engineering
(ASSE) and the plumbing industry
took on an extensive effort to prove
that polio was a water borne disease.
ASSE and the plumbing industry con-
tended the viral disease was spread
through polluted potable water. The
theory was that many cases were
caused by faulty plumbing practices,
such as cross connections which led to
back siphonage and backflow. The
ASSE campaign was of major impor-
tance in developing a greater con-
sciousness of proper plumbing prac-
tices.
Since that time the American
Society of Sanitary Engineering has
developed many standards for prod-
ucts that are components of plumbing
systems. The standards have a heavy
emphasis on backflow prevention and
are being adopted by model codes
throughout the country.
1940: Hunter Publishes BMS 66
Plumbing Manual. Dr. Roy B.
Hunters work culminated in the pub-
Page 50/Plumbing Engineer
lication of the BMS 66 Plumbing
Manual in 1940. This was one of the
documents that served as the basis for
every modern plumbing code at that
time.
1944: The National Sanitation
Foundation was Formed. Walter
Snyder, Henry Vaughan and Nathan
Sinai formed the National Sanitation
Foundation. The agency was devoted
to scientific research in sanitation.
They kept in contact with national,
state and local governments for the
purposes of promoting sound improve-
ments in sanitation. The National
Sanitation Foundation, now known as
NSF International, develops standards
for food, and beverage equipment,
components used in drinking water
systems and plastic pipe and fittings.
Mid-1940s: In the mid-1940s,
Hersey Corporation created the
reduced pressure principle backflow
preventer. The development of a back-
flow preventer using this principle led
to an increased interest in the field of
backflow prevention and cross connec-
tion control. Many manufacturers and
organizations have since provided edu-
cational literature, seminars and videos
on the subject. Today, the American
Backflow Prevention Association car-
ries this message forward.
New Challenges, Materials
and Methods
1946 - 1970s: Post WW II
Building Boom. In the latter 1940s,
following World War II, and continu-
ing through the 1950s, the 1960s and
into the 1970s, there was a tremendous
expansion of housing developments
and industrial plant construction out-
June 2001
side the central areas of cities in the
United States. New buildings were
erected along new principle highways,
and public water, sewer, gas and elec-
tric systems were provided for build-
ing service needs in most areas.
Private systems were utilized in many
areas where public systems were not
available. All of the buildings built
during these years were equipped with
modern plumbing systems conforming
to sanitary standards elevated to a
higher level than ever before. In the
central areas of cities many old build-
ings were removed and in their places
large skyscraper office buildings and
apartment buildings were erected.
They, too, were equipped with modern
plumbing systems designed in accor-
dance with the highest sanitary stan-
dards in history in order to serve the
greatest occupancy loads of all time.
1950s: Fixture Units Report
Published by Dr. Hunter. In the
1950s the National Bureau of
Standards published a report on esti- fixture outlet. Ductile irons high degree of
mating loads in plumbing systems. 1955: Introduction of Ductile Iron dependability is primarily due to its
The report was titled BMS65, Methods Pipe. Since its introduction into the high strength, durability and impact-
of Estimating Loads in Plumbing marketplace in 1955, ductile iron pipe and corrosion-resistance. Ductile iron
Systems. The report was presented by has been recognized as the industry has minimum strength requirements of
Dr. Roy B. Hunter and gave tables of standard for modern water and waste- 60,000 psi tensile strength, 42,000 psi
the load producing characteristics water systems. Its strength and dura- yield strength, and 10 percent mini-
(Fixture Unit Weights) of commonly bility make it ideal for transporting mum elongation.
used fixtures, along with probability raw and potable water, sewage, slur- 1966: The Development of Plastic
curves which made it easy to apply to ries and process chemicals. Ductile Piping. In 1966, a critical shortage of
actual design problems. The curves are iron is stronger and tougher than cast copper occurred in the United States
known as Hunters Curves. iron. Although its chemical properties because of the stoppage of shipments
1950s - 1960s: Skyscraper are similar to those of cast iron, ductile from foreign sources of supply.
Construction Brings Changes in iron incorporates casting refinements, Inventories of copper drainage waste
Design. Tower building construction additional metallurgical processes, and and vent (DWV) tube and fittings were
accelerated in the late 1950s and early additional quality control. Ductile iron rapidly exhausted. Large develop-
1960s, and necessitated changes in was found to differ from cast iron in ments of single family residences were
design to meet changing conditions. that its graphite form is spheroidal, or halted for most of 1966 because of the
Increased building heights and nodular, instead of the flake form unavailability of copper DWV piping
increased water usage, including water found in cast iron. This change in which originally had been planned for
for air conditioning, required water graphite form is accomplished by installation. This urgent need was soon
supply tanks so large that they caused adding an inoculant, usually magne- filled by non-metallic, plastic DWV
significant space problems and were sium, to molten iron of appropriate pipe and fittings, which were then
uneconomical. To meet the changing composition during manufacture. Due introduced into use for building
conditions, designs were changed to to its spheroidal graphite form, ductile plumbing systems under carefully pre-
provide tankless, automatic, constant- iron has approximately twice the scribed installation conditions.
pressure booster-pump systems which strength of cast iron as determined by 1961 - 1992: Development of
required a minimum of valuable build- tensile, beam, ring bending and burst- Plumbing for the Disabled. A most
ing space and which also provided a ing tests. Its impact strength and elon- significant change in the design of
sealed-in supply of potable water from gation are many times greater than cast buildings used by the public began in
the source of supply to the plumbing irons.
Continued on page 52
Plumbing Engineer June 2001/Page 51
The History of Plumbing
Continued from page 51
1961. The object of the change was to
make all buildings and facilities,
including plumbing, used by the pub-
lic accessible to, and functional for,
the physically handicapped, without
loss of function, space, or facility
where the general public is concerned.
The changes were originally set forth
in the American National Standards
Page 52/Plumbing Engineer
Institute (ANSI) standard,
Specification for Making Buildings
and Facilities Accessible to and
Usable by Physically Handicapped
People, originally issued as A117.1-
1961. Updates were made in 1971 and
1980 and, in 1992, government regu-
lations known as the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) went into
effect. These regulations mandated the
necessary design changes, including
many related to plumbing systems, in
buildings.
1974: Energy Efficiency in
Plumbing Design. In 1974, when the
supply of foreign oil to the United
States was interrupted and oil prices
rose sharply, ways to conserve energy
were a constant concern. Some impor-
tant conservation measures related to
plumbing were: elimination of water
waste; reduction of water use; reduc-
tion of hot water storage and supply
temperature; reduction of flow for hot
As part of the
Energy Policy Act
of 1992, legislators
determined
without the benefit
of testing or
research that 1.6
gallons per flush
would be the
maximum con-
sumption allowed
for water closets.
water faucets; insulation of water
heater tanks and piping; and use of
heat reclaiming systems and solar
heating systems. These are just some
of the conservation methods that have
been applied to plumbing systems.
Today water saving faucets and fix-
tures are being mandated by many
municipalities from coast to coast due
to water shortages in many water dis-
tricts around the country. A corollary
benefit of reducing water use is the
reduction of the load on overburdened
water treatment facilities.
1977: The National Association of
Pipe Fabricators Was Born. In 1977,
five independent ductile iron pipe fab-
ricators met in Kansas City, Mo., to
discuss the materials specified for
water and wastewater treatment
June 2001
plants. It was determined at that meet-
ing that there was a need for an orga-
nization to promote the quality prod-
ucts available through independent
fabricators. The goal was to contact
engineers and specification writers
throughout the nation and change
existing standards to more accurately
reflect current industry practices.
Thus, the National Association of Pipe
Fabricators (NAPF) was born. Those
five fabricators also began to aid each
other with technical advice through
visits to each others facilities, produc-
ing items needed by those with limited
capabilities, and sharing surplus
inventories.
Over the next several years the
NAPF continued to grow and added
many new members across the United
States. In an effort to gain national
credibility in the engineering commu-
nity, the membership decided the
NAPF should develop and produce a
standards catalogue, which would not
only cover the existing ANSI/AWWA
standards but include additional valu-
able information not currently avail-
able to the industry.
More than 1000 of these manuals
have since been distributed. Some of
the topics included were welding of
ductile pipe, surface preparation prior
to painting, glass lining and fabricated
wall pipe. Over the past 20 years, rep-
resentatives of the NAPF have also
held positions on various AWWA com-
mittees, which are responsible for
updating existing standards to more
appropriately reflect changes within
the industry. Many of the recent
changes in these standards are directly
attributable to the efforts of the NAPF.
1994 - 1996: Legislation Takes
Effect to Further Restrict Water
Use. Legislation was adopted as part
of the Energy Efficiency Act in the
1980s to restrict water flow rates in
various plumbing fixtures. Later it was
amended with the Energy Policy Act
of 1992 to further reduce water use in
plumbing fixtures. As part of the
Energy Policy Act of 1992, legislators
determined without the benefit of
testing or research that 1.6 gallons
per flush would be the maximum con-
sumption allowed for water closets.
Manufacturers have spent millions of
Plumbing Engineer
dollars to redesign fixtures to flush Construction Industry Press,
with the lower flow rates and the jury Elmhurst, Ill., 1982.
is still out on this one. Can we learn a 5. History excerpts from The Farmers
lesson from this? I think we have. Almanac.
Before legislation of this type is intro- 6. The Ductile Iron Pipe Association
duced in the future, research should Web site, http://www.dipra.org.
be done by an independent organiza- 7. The Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute,
tion to conclude that the fixtures will Chattanooga, Tenn.
work properly at a given flow rate. 8. Internet search for History of
Plumbing at www.theplumber.com
9. Ballanco, Julius, Evolution of
We need to respect Plumbing Codes in the United States
of America, from World Plumbing
the lessons we Conference Compendium of
have learned from Workshop Papers, October, 1996,
Chicago, Ill. (available through the
history and American Society of Sanitary
Engineering, 216/835-3040).
continue teaching 10. George, Ron, CIPE, The History
them to young of Plumbing, published in Plumbing
Standards, Summer 1995, by the
engineers and American Society of Sanitary
Engineering.
apprentices.
Conclusion
As in any such undertaking, one
persons attempt to record history
may inadvertently omit certain events
or accomplishments. Commentary,
additions, corrections and clarifica-
tions are sincerely invited, either by
sending email to the author (rge -
orge@dt.smithgroup.com) or by way
of the editor.
Many significant events are record-
ed in the history of plumbing. Each
time something failed, or people
became ill, the industry reacted by
determining the problem and working
to solve it. We need to respect the
lessons we have learned from history
and continue teaching them to young
engineers and apprentices. We do not
want history to repeat itself. The code
may tell us what we can or cannot do,
but history tells us why.
References:
1. Internet search for History_of_
Plumbing (various sources).
2. http://www.bowdoin.edu/dept/clas/
arch304/baths
3. Nielson, Louis S., Standard
Plumbing Engineering Design, 1963.
4. Steele, Alfred, Engineered
Plumbing Design, second edition,
June 2001/Page 53