Ever wonder where it all goes? How about where it all comes from?
If you did, you have a headstart in Getting to Know Your Pipes. What happens behind your walls isn’t magic, but rather the product of years of scientific advancements combined with advances in practical knowledge. The best way to understand your plumbing is to think of it as two parts: The first part brings the water (supply side); the second part takes it away (waste side).
It’s all about Health, Safety, and Dependability…
The Plumbing Code is not just some set of rules designed to make life tougher for plumbers and homeowners, but rather a set of minimum requirements to ensure that drinking water is safely delivered to the tap, wastewater is safely removed from the living area, and the pipes that do the work don’t cause too many problems during their life.
The enforcement of a plumbing code has greatly reduced the number of health risks and disease outbreaks associated with polluted water and wastewater.
Supply –> Use –> Waste
Water entering a building from a city source or a well should be potable, or drinking water. Once the water leaves the source and is used, either in the kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room, it becomes wastewater, and must be treated. If you are connected to central sewer, the water is led to a large treatment plant. If you are not connected to central sewer, your water is most likely treated in a septic tank, sand mound, and drainfield.