There’s no doubt the plumbing industry has had a hyper-focus on Legionella and prevention over the past few years. Yet a simple search on Google reveals outbreaks in an Illinois prison, a Hawaiian hotel and in Riverside County, California — all within the past two months.

Did you know that May 4 is National Skilled Trades Day? It also happens to be National Star Wars Day — “May the Fourth Be With You,” and all that jazz.

PM Engineer Chief Editor Nicole Krawcke sat down with Elkay’s Michelle Hickey, senior manager of brand and media strategy, and Dave Sklodowski, group product manager, to discuss the bottle filling station market, current trends and some of Elkay’s philanthropic work in donating these products to communities in need of clean water.

The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year will help inject billions of dollars into both potable water and wastewater upgrades over the next several years. Coupled with that, President Joe Biden has issued an executive order and Federal Sustainability Plan that will put the U.S. federal government on a path to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, which includes directives for federal buildings and facilities to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045 through energy efficiency, electrification and use of carbon-free electricity along with sustainability principles.

It’s been two full years since the COVID-19 pandemic changed all of our lives. Two years is a long time to live life in a bubble. I know many people will understand when I say I’m so tired of COVID and all of its restrictions! We want to get on with our lives and have everything return to normal. But here’s the thing, COVID is not going away just because we wish it would.

PM Engineer did a quick spot check with PVF manufacturers to get their take on current market trends, industry challenges and what to expect in 2022.

My husband and I recently purchased a new refrigerator. This is how I know I’m getting old(er) — I get excited about new kitchen appliances. We opted to go with an LG Wi-Fi-enabled model. I can connect to the refrigerator through LG’s ThinkQ app.

The United States is failing, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 Infrastructure Report Card. The nation’s 2.2 million miles of underground pipes delivering clean drinking water is aging and underfunded.

Last month, two multi-family residential buildings 100 miles away from each other caught fire just days apart, resulting in the deaths of nearly 30 people.