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Tell the City of St. Louis:

Keep Our
Plumbing Code

HELP CORRECT THE RECORD

It’s hard enough to be a plumber right now. Not enough labor. Supply chain delays.

And now the City of St. Louis wants to make it harder for plumbers by changing our plumbing code? Not only changing our plumbing code, but also eliminating the Committee of Plumbing Code Review that lends research-based expertise to help the City of St. Louis build community resiliency through plumbing.

In both cases, the question is, why?

Why is St. Louis Considering a Change?

To help St. Louis aldermen and alderwomen gain a better understanding of how changing the city plumbing code is detrimental to residents and building owners, we need to address two misunderstandings:
  1. Some city aldermen expressed a perception that ICC offers a “family of codes.” This isn’t actually a benefit (codes are customized by cities all the time), but it’s mainly just not true. The St. Louis electrical code is a completely separate code. Why recognize the specialized expertise of electricians but not plumbers? Both professions have a direct impact on public health and safety in the built environment.
  2. Others made mention of a discredited ICC report that implied that huge savings can be achieved under the IPC. The report’s cost calculations were based on an “average” single-family home of 4,500 sq ft—more than 90% larger than the actual median size of U.S. single-family homes. And with a 32-foot-high roof! (Read more of The Real Story)

To answer the why, perhaps the answer lies in a Congressional inquiry into ICC’s Business Practices announced earlier this year, following reports by the New York Times and others reporting that ICC has a previously undisclosed written agreements with National Associations giving disproportionate control over ICC’s code development process.

We are concerned that our city leaders may not be aware of the full impact of their actions in the face of a  disinformation campaign from ICC.

Are you a plumber in the City of St. Louis? Help Correct the Record.

Add your name to a letter we'll send to your city aldermen

What’s at Stake: How Changing the St. Louis Plumbing Code Hurts St. Louis Plumbers and Residents

Changing the plumbing code is going to hurt plumbing businesses in St. Louis in the short run and the citizens of St. Louis in the short and long run.
  • In the short run, plumbing businesses will need to pull their techs off the job for retraining, limiting our ability to earn and compounding supply chain delays for customers.
  • St. Louis plumbers will also need to pay a lot more for code books: 5 times more for the six books needed to replace the one Uniform Plumbing Code book.
  • Long term, the citizens of St. Louis are going to lose prescriptive means to build community plumbing resilience that protect St. Louis great water quality. For example, the IPC has no provisions for mitigating Legionella pathogen growth.
  • Eliminating oversight from experts in plumbing science in favor of builders focused on short-term construction costs will increase the maintenance cost burden for homes and building owners.

Save our St. Louis Plumbing Code

Add your name below to a letter we will send to your city aldermen.  (View a copy of the letter)
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