Green Technology to be Incorporated into Plumbing Code

State Rep. Carol Sente (D-Vernon Hills) announced Thursday that her legislation to update the Illinois plumbing code with green technology standards has been signed into law. House Bill 4496 sets a May 31, 2013 deadline for the Illinois Department of Public Health to incorporate standards for new technologies that promote water conservation and safety.

“Illinois’ out-of-date plumbing code has prevented the adoption of modern methods to save money and preserve the environment through the harvesting of rainwater,” Sente said. “This summer’s drought has demonstrated that it is imperative that we work to conserve water and think creatively about new solutions. Harvesting rainwater is one way to accomplish this, and I look forward to an updated plumbing code which makes it easier for rainwater solutions to be built in Illinois.”

The bill was signed into law at the Ryerson Woods Welcome Center, which has one of the only current rainwater harvesting systems in Illinois. Without updated plumbing standards, building such systems has been a difficult and lengthy process.

"We first ‘opened the hood’ on the state’s plumbing code in hopes of allowing rainwater harvesting across Illinois, a practice demonstrated right here at Ryerson Woods, which puts rain – a free resource – to use for things like flushing toilets and providing water for sprinkling systems," Sente said. "I'm proud that this will 'fix the whole engine' by updating the entire plumbing code."

— Submitted by the office of Carol Sente