Plumbing

Plumbing is the system of pipes, drains, fittings, valves, and fixtures installed for the distribution of potable water for drinking, heating and washing, and waterborne waste removal. "Plumbing" also refers to the skilled trade which installs and maintains it.

The plumbing industry is a basic and substantial part of every known developed economy. The word derives from the Latin plumbum for lead, as the first effective pipes used in Terra's Roman era were lead pipes.

"Plumbing" often denotes the supply and waste system of an individual building, distinguishing it from water supply and sewage systems that serve a group of buildings.

The major categories of plumbing systems or subsystems are: Bacteria have been shown to live in "premise plumbing systems". The latter refers to the "pipes and fixtures within a building or ship that transport water to taps after it is delivered by the utility". Community water systems have been known for centuries to spread waterborne diseases, however "opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens" have been recognized only in the 20th century CE; Legionella pneumophila discovered in 1976 CE, Mycobacterium avium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the most commonly tracked bacteria, which people with depressed immunity can inhale or ingest and may become infected with. These pathogens can grow. for example, in faucets, shower heads, water heaters and along pipe walls. A high surface-to-volume ratio, i.e. a relatively large surface area allows the bacteria to form a biofilm, which protects them from disinfection.
 * potable cold and hot tap water supply
 * plumbing drainage venting
 * sewage systems and septic systems with or without hot water heat recycling and graywater recovery and treatment systems
 * Rainwater, surface, and subsurface water drainage
 * fuel gas piping
 * hydronics, (heating and cooling systems utilizing water to transport thermal energy, as in district heating systems).