Plumbing is not just about the pipes and fixtures; it’s about the underlying purpose. It’s not what we do, it’s why we do it. Plumbing ensures the flow of clean water, the removal of waste, and the well-being of our communities. It’s a vital service that goes beyond the physical connections; it’s about safeguarding health, comfort and convenience.

It’s amazing to me to believe that I have been writing for Plumber Editor Cory Dellenbach and his team at the  magazine for seven years!

Cory contacted me shortly after I returned from a Community Plumbing Challenge back in 2015, which was held in Nashik, India. It was a life changing event for me where I served as a coach for a young group of plumbing apprentices and engineers. Since then, plumbing has taken me to various parts of the world which I probably would have never traveled to. Places like South Africa and Indonesia. These were places where this third-generation plumber truly learned the importance and value of his skills. 

GETTING CLOSER TO ‘HOME’

Over the past years I’ve written about the “value” of those skills, which each and every one of you reading this possesses and which are most likely taken for granted every day by those whom we serve. 

To be honest though, it wasn’t until 2018 when I realized that I didn’t need to travel to other countries to find the immense need for plumbing and skilled plumbers. It was then that I learned that over 2 million plus people in the United States alone, live without access to safe water and sanitation. Since then, I have dedicated much of the last six years doing plumbing projects domestically, with the largest percentage of that work occurring on the Navajo Nation. The population of the Navajo reservation is approximately 173,637 and it is about the same size as West Virginia which, believe it or not, is larger than 10 other states! 

After that eye-opening experience on the Navajo Nation, I left a very rewarding 19-year teaching career as the instructor of plumbing apprenticeship in northeastern Wisconsin, and in 2019, went to work for the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. 

It was IAPMO who formed the International Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Foundation — a 501(c)(3) organization that afforded me the opportunity to perform plumbing abroad. Between these two incredible organizations, I now wear my two “professional hats” as the IAPMO director of Workforce Training and Development and as the program director of North American IWSH projects. 

GOING FORWARD

While I’m sure that many of you have read much of what I’ve laid out above in past articles I’ve written for Plumber, I feel it’s important for you to see where plumbing has taken me and where I continue to see myself and this trade going forward.

I mentioned my background was in providing education to plumbing apprentices. Each of us knows that knowledge is power. I strongly believe that statement and always emphasized it to my apprentices throughout their training. In early August of this year, and through the continued work and support of IAPMO and IWSH, I recently completed what I’ll call possibly the pinnacle of my career, in developing and implementing a plumbing certificate program for the Navajo Technical University located in Crownpoint, New Mexico. 

This program is the first of its kind in the four corners region of the Navajo Nation. This three-semester program includes six plumbing specific courses (15 credits) ranging from Plumbing 101 to the installation and understanding of drains, venting, water piping, gas piping and hands-on training in a state-of-the-art plumbing lab. This December, six students are on track to graduate from the program. With this training the students will have an enhanced opportunity to not only find plumbing related jobs throughout the reservation but also advanced placement into plumbing apprenticeships throughout New Mexico! 

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide safe water and sanitation to those in need, our IWSH team then took on another project located in the Baca area of New Mexico which is approximately 45-minutes east of Gallup. 

In my 3-part series “America’s Dirty Secret” I shared a report that indicated over 15,000 homes in the Navajo Nation need sanitation facility improvements. In 2022 I performed 16 site surveys where I witnessed firsthand failing septic systems. Part of the cause for these failures is due to the soil conditions and a high limiting factor (bedrock). Many of these systems failed to the point of producing surface ponding of sewage.

To address these failing systems, our team collaborated with a soil tester (and former student of mine) to perform soil tests on multiple sites earlier this year. We determined that due to the depth of usable soil we had to work with, a pressurized sand mound system would work best.

With this information in hand, we designed two mounds which were then installed as pilot projects for two preselected homeowners on the reservation. As part of the project our team also provided a walk through and presentation for these systems to various Navajo agencies and community leaders. These systems are currently being monitored and will serve as training opportunities should the Navajo Nation decide to move forward with utilizing this type of septic system.

Both systems were installed in a week’s time, and it was largely due to the incredible IWSH volunteers and sponsors which supported us. I can’t express enough about how amazing a week it was and what it meant to have a former student working side by side with me and in many ways, teaching me the art of plumbing!

MORE WORK TO BE DONE

So, as you can see, plumbing is so much more than most people can imagine. It is a trade that I’ve learned, taught, and continue to learn more about. It continues to evolve. Technology changes, products improve and our skills become more enhanced.

But that’s what we do and it’s who we are. There’s a lot of work to do yet and far too many people still living without safe water and sanitation. It’s also the reason I need to step away from the keyboard for a while. My workload continues to evolve, and more projects seem to be pulling me in multiple directions. 

It has been an amazing seven years of writing for Plumber, and I want to thank them for allowing me the opportunity to write both educational and personal experience articles for you. I’ve also enjoyed the feedback which many of you have shared with Cory about my articles, and he has shared with me. Thank you.

 “Until next time, may our plumbing endeavors always be guided by a deeper understanding of ‘why,’ as it’s in our ‘why’ that we find meaning and purpose in our work.”  

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Randy Lorge is a third-generation plumber and the director of workforce training and development for the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials. Lorge is also a member of the planning team for the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation. This 501(c) (3) foundation has completed water and sanitation projects for those less fortunate in India, South Africa, Indonesia and, more recently, the United States. He enjoys time with his family and spending as much time as possible in his deer stand. To contact Lorge, email editor@plumbermag.com.