The plumbing and mechanical codes sometimes seem to be living, breathing things, changing size, shape and even emphasis in response to what's taking place in the real world.
   At times, technological advances, either in products or practices, help drive changes to the codes, while in other instances, societal changes might be the driving force. Simply think about the "green" revolution that's overtaken the country as an example of societal change.
   With the many changes taking place in the world, what are we likely to see in the plumbing and mechanical codes 10 years down the road? We asked the experts at the two major code bodies-the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials and the International Code Council-for their opinions.
   For Dave Viola, IAPMO's director of special services, you can color the codes of the future a bright shade of green.
   "Looking five to 10 years into the future, you will see much greener codes," Viola said. "IAPMO did that in the realm of green by finishing our green supplement that shows how to integrate green into the codes and eliminate any barriers to green technologies and products."
   The biggest ways that green is brought into plumbing codes is through water conservation and the technologies that can make that happen, Viola maintained, as well as alternative water sources, and efficiently designed and installed hot water systems.
   "The use of alternative water sources, such as gray water, rainwater, onsite treated water and reclaimed or recycled water is very important," he said.
   Viola characterized gray water as that untreated discharge from bathtubs, sinks and showers, while the definition of rainwater speaks for itself. Onsite treated water might be gray, storm or rainwater that is treated to a certain water quality and used for other applications, he noted, such as for washing laundry, and flushing toilets and urinals.
   Reclaimed or recycled water, Viola pointed out, is that which is treated reliably by a public utility and delivered by a piping system onto a property for use by irrigation, toilet flushing, HVAC units, ornamental water features, fountains and swimming pools.
   "Reclaimed water in many cases is basically swimming pool water," Viola said. "It needs only another finishing process to make it potable water."
   Jay Peters, ICC's executive director for plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas, said the ICC plumbing code always has been something of a green code during its development, especially when considering manifold water distribution systems, air admittance valves and many of the methods for designing drain and waste vents.
   "We will start to see a blurring of the lines between sustainable system requirements and the typical plumbing safety provisions we've seen over the years," Peters said. "Placing green provisions into the code will become more commonplace."
   Another area that Peters believes will become more important in the codes is that of materials issues.
   "Consider the sizing of hot water systems," he said. "There are groups that want to get down to three-eighths-inch pipe sizing in order to conserve water, energy and materials. And as the science moves forward with recirculating pumps, there's more of an opportunity for it."
   Peters observed that change takes time and that most industries, the plumbing industry included, don't take change very well at first.
   "With the ICC code, you have all these choices available in there, but none of them are mandated," Peters said. "Our code says if you use these systems, here are the provision that you should do to go with them."
   The current ICC code includes single stack venting systems, what Peters called the Philadelphia Stack System.
   "That system has been around a long time and it took a long time to get it into the code," he said. "But it provides a savings on both pipes and sizes used."
   In addition, Peters said, siphonic roof drain systems are now in the code. Such systems generally use smaller sized piping systems, proponents contend, thus using less materials.
   Viola of IAPMO believes that codes will be altered in the future to eliminate barriers to allow emerging technologies to achieve the goals of green building standards and more efficient building construction.
   "For codes, the challenge is to identify the barriers to maintaining the current level of health and safety, while still facilitating the use of greener technologies," Viola noted. "We also are trying to identify greener installation criteria in order to produce water saving goals, and to integrate new standards that are developed to coincide with products that will be installed and designed on green principles."
   Viola pointed out that two years ago IAPMO's board of directors began addressing the issues of sustainable construction in the codes of the future, producing supplements to the plumbing and mechanical codes that addressed issues falling under the green and sustainability umbrella.
   "We've addressed HVAC, water systems, indoor environment, the responsible use of building materials, energy efficiency and alternative water systems in our HVAC and plumbing codes," he said.
   Lynne Simnick, IAPMO's director of code development, said the supplements are optional documents that can be adopted by municipalities and also serve as a resource to designers and installers when they are developing and constructing green buildings.
   "It's also written like a code so it can be adopted by a jurisdiction to meet any energy or water conservation restraint they may be operating under," Simnick said.
   Viola noted that the industry has created a situation where different segments are succeeding at different levels when it comes to sustainability.
   "There are calls for drastic changes in water conservation in some regions of the country, like in California which made 1.28 gpf toilets mandatory after they hit the marketplace," Viola said. "Other states then look at raising the bar in setting local standards."
   Viola said Texas has followed California's lead, as have some Eastern states.
   "Water and energy are intertwined," he said. "So by saving a gallon of water, you also save a lot of energy as well, and California is an energy-constrained state."
   Peters of ICC said he thinks more and stricter requirements regarding water savings will be a part of future codes.
   "Water-saving fixtures have always been in there," Peters noted, "but maybe water monitoring devices and leak detection devices will be something to be added."
   He noted that ICC has received a number of proposals to limit the number of showerheads in a shower compartment.
   "In considering the main shower head and the body sprays, we're looking at the possibility of limiting the number of heads or limiting the total GPM of all the heads in the compartment," Peters said.
   Concerning the issue of gray water, Peters noted the ICC is considering putting gray water directly into the code, instead of only in an appendix, as is currently the case with the ICC code.
   "Because the use of gray water is becoming more commonplace, the proposals have passed our membership to move it (gray water) to the body of the code," he said.
   Peters said ICC has been working toward a national code for a long time.
   "From a safety perspective, having one code creates a benefit for the public," he said. "There's also a streamlining effect in allowing inspectors and contractors to cross jurisdictional lines, and an educational benefit in being able to reach everyone."
   However, he added, with the downturn in the economy there has been a prioritization of needs and the focus of groups has gone "full speed ahead on green and sustainability issues, so we've gone in that direction to assist them."
   Simnick of IAPMO said she thinks there's the possibility of a unified code in the future: "Anything is possible," she said. "We'll continue to develop under the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) system that improves the safety of products for the protection of consumers.