The Story of the Waterless Urinal – Plumbing Code Change Approved

Even as Falcon's waterless urinals were tasting success

, plumbers continued with their protests. They reached a feverish pitch when the Los Angeles City Council called a meeting to decide whether it was time to approve waterless urinals. Massey and fellow plumbers turned up to protest against the approval. The council decided to review the issue at a later date to pacify the plumbers.

But Massey didn't stop at this. He organized plumbing unions across the country and hired lobbyists to lead the fight against Falcon's product. In 2006, a union from Philadelphia, along with contractor and plumbers groups, got a full page advertisement published in the Northeast Times. The article made a reference to Phyllis Fox's study and subsequent finding that waterless urinals can pose a health threat. The union insisted that it was acting in the public's best interests. As if this debacle wasn't enough, the organization that manages the Uniform Plumbing Code (one of the two main model codes), snubbed Falcon's proposed changes to the plumbing code. Now Krug would have to wait three more years to appeal for a change.

But there were some positive developments for Falcon. With the help of Gleiberman, the International Plumbing Code approved the modifications proposed by Falcon for its waterless urinals. This code served as a model for half of United States, most specifically in the east and did not have a strong union influence. With this acceptance of waterless unions, Falcon could finally start marketing its product on a large scale.

Massey, on the other hand, was having second thoughts about fighting the approval granted to Falcon. A research into the company's board of directors had given him quite a few reasons to stop pursuing the issue. For starters, a major investor in Falcon, billionaire Marc Nathanson was a close friend of Bill Clinton and an influential Democratic supporter. Massey admitted that Nathanson was not someone who you picked a fight with. Al Gore was one of Falcon's advisors, which put Massey in the uncomfortable position of opposing the traditional allies of the union, the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, a shift towards environmentally products and a more eco-friendly consumer in general, was helping the cause of the waterless urinal, which had the potential to save millions of gallons of water each year. In the present scenario, plumbers' protests appeared to be politically incorrect. Massey decided that he would stop the backlash against waterless urinals and support their inclusion in the country's Uniform Plumbing Code.

The year 2009 saw the code change being approved, but with a new requirement, which stated that the water pipe would not be used but had to be capped behind the wall. Though Krug felt that this requirement was uncalled for, he decided not to appeal against it. He had fought a tough battle over the eight years to get waterless urinals approved and did not want to meet any more hurdles. Massey felt that the requirement was necessary as this gave the building owner the flexibility to change from waterless to traditional flushing urinals.

The Story of the Waterless Urinal Plumbing Code Change Approved

By: Frank Terry Morris

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