The word plumbing is derived from the Latin word for lead ‘Plumbum’. The first signs of plumbing on a mass scale were evident in ancient Rome where they initially made use of aqueducts and gravity to get water from high altitudes to cities such as Rome. As plumbing developed the Romans began to use lead pipes, which prevented outside contaminants from getting into the water supply and allowed water to be transported under greater pressure. Plumbing has progressed greatly since then and now incorporates a large scale of activities. Most of the developments in plumbing however, have only taken place within the last century. Up until the eighteenth century and in isolated cases the nineteenth century many plumbing systems were still making use of lead pipes which itself contaminated the water and caused lead poisoning.
Some water systems still use canals which resemble the architecture of Roman aqueducts but most water transport systems use pipes which reduce contamination and make the transport of water much easier. Today water pipes can be made from a variety of materials, depending on the volume of water being carried and the nature of the system. Most big water lines are manufactured from concrete or steel whereas smaller systems such as those in a house are usually made from steel or copper. Waste water is usually transported in PVC plastic pipes.
Plumbing doesn’t only deal with the processing and transportation of fresh water, but also with the removal and processing of sewage and waste water. Modern cities provide fresh water and sewage removal to almost every one of their buildings. Water is pumped from natural sources (i.e. dams) to processing plants where it is filtered and cleaned through a chemical process, from there it is stored in reservoirs which distribute it among the population. Waste water produced by the population is taken out of the system through drainage pipes, processed again and pumped either back into natural systems (i.e. dams and rivers) or back into the system to reservoirs.
The processing component of plumbing is crucial to every person and the environment. If it wasn’t for the filtering and processing component, water would carry many contaminants and spread diseases such as cholera to human populations as well as cause damage to the environment. Another important component of macro-plumbing is storm drainage systems. Storm drainage systems prevent excess rainwater run-off and wastage by routing the excess water to rivers and dams were it can be stored. These systems also route large volumes of excess water away from populated areas in order to prevent localized flooding.
Most people are familiar with plumbing on a micro scale such as the plumbing mechanisms found in a house, but don’t understand how they work, or just don’t have the tools and capacity to fix them. Many plumbers and unqualified entrepreneurs make a living by fixing domestic plumbing systems. These jobs can include anything from fixing leaks and unblocking sewage systems to the installation of geysers.
