Since the 1980’s plumbing codes have become increasingly more water and energy efficient.  Adopting and enforcing an up-to-date plumbing code in your jurisdiction is a fundamental step to ensuring that your community is utilizing proven practices and technologies that maximize water and water-related energy use in each new generation of buildings. The graphic below is illustrative of how dramatically water efficiency has improved in our nation’s buildings over the last thirty years.

The Status of Legislation, Regulation, Codes & Standards on Indoor Plumbing Water Efficiency, Alliance for Water Efficiency, January 2016

The decisions communities make today regarding water standards impact homes and buildings that will be in use for decades. 
These decisions directly impact how water resources are allocated and relates to future economic development. Plumbing codes are integral to the water standards communities use because they govern how each interacts with water during the course of our day. The 2015 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) is a comprehensive construction standard with provisions of this code applying to the erection, installation, alteration, repair, relocation, replacement, addition to, use, or maintenance of plumbing systems. The UPC is recognized and utilized around the world.

Being a recognized authority within your jurisdiction is a great responsibility. 
You are tasked with the health and safety of your residents and visitors. Ensuring that new construction and renovation projects are completed through the rigorous enforcement of current code provisions not only provides for the highest levels of water and energy efficiency, it also ensures that the most up-to-date health and safety related requirements are applied. Current consensus-based code provisions provide the best levels of efficiency and safety that our industries have to offer. This translates to safer, more sustainable communities, improved standards of living and higher property values.

The Uniform Codes offer the most efficient provisions of any code developed today. 
The industry’s practical experience and applied science taken from multiple points of view are incorporated to any code published as a Uniform Code. The technical committees, subcommittees and working groups are populated with more than 250 volunteers dedicated to producing the most comprehensive, discipline-specific, turnkey documents possible.

This collaboration yields the Uniform Plumbing Code, the only model plumbing code designated as an American National Standard.