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Plumbing Engineer

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October 2026

Volume: 54
Edition: 10

In this month’s issue, Eric Walczyk contributes a case study on how Portland International Airport addressed its grease-management problem across its food concessions. In an online exclusive, Aaron Bock from EUA also offers his perspective on grease interceptor design and how to size a unit to achieve the best performance and longevity.

Articles

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Feature

Managing Building Water Systems: The Importance of Understanding the Public Water System’s Supply, Part 1

To understand how a BWS fits in with a PWS, one must understand where the water comes from originally, what preservatives and other beneficial constituents are added to the water during treatment, and where to find information about the water system.

Whether designing a building’s water system, installing and commissioning one, developing a water management program (WMP), or troubleshooting water quality problems, it is important to have a good understanding of the water supply to a building water system (BWS), whether the supply is from a connection to a public water system (PWS) or is self-supplied.


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Feature

Geothermal Hydronic Systems: An HVAC Trend Amid Rising Energy Costs

While upfront costs and site-specific considerations remain challenges, the long-term benefits in efficiency, reliability and environmental impact position these systems as a cornerstone of future-ready building strategies.

Increased energy costs have driven HVAC designers to consider the implementation of other, more efficient systems to lower operating costs. 


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Feature

Commercial PEX Plumbing Layouts

New PEX plumbing guide gives users insight into how PEX pipes are physically organized and oriented in commercial buildings.
Lance MacNevin PEng

Plumbing designers have choices when selecting pressure pipe materials for commercial plumbing systems, some old and some newer.


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Feature

Water Quality and Legionella Risk

A properly implemented building management system can strengthen water management plans in buildings. Here is how.

Water quality in buildings is defined by a matrix of measurable parameters: disinfectant residual, turbidity, pH, total organic compounds, hardness and suspended solids, among others.  


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Feature

Every Drop, Every Opportunity: Designing for Water Resilience

From greywater reuse to rainwater capture and smart irrigation, resilient design strategies help conserve water and support healthier landscapes.

As water scarcity and environmental concerns intensify, the need for water sustainability continues to grow.  


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Feature

Rethinking Airport Grease Management

Portland International Airport’s chronic grease-management problem became an opportunity to rethink how food-service waste moves through complex terminal infrastructure and to develop a cleaner, more reliable approach suitable for 24/7 operations.

Portland International Airport, owned and operated by the Port of Portland, had a systemic grease problem across its food concessions.


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Feature

Reimagining Existing Buildings: Plumbing Strategies for Adaptive Reuse and Office-to-Residential Conversions

Above-floor, pump-assisted systems can help project teams add modern kitchens, bathrooms and laundry areas while reducing structural disruption, preserving historic features and supporting faster, more flexible redevelopment.

Adaptive reuse has become an increasingly popular strategy for transforming vacant office buildings, historic properties and underutilized commercial spaces into residential and mixed-use developments.


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Feature

Cooperative Reduces Diesel Dependence

How Cordova Electric Cooperative in Cordova, Alaska, used Rheem’s Torin commercial air-to-water heat pump to transition from fuel oil heating to an electric hydronic solution.

Keeping commercial buildings warm in Cordova, Alaska, is no small task.


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Columns

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Thought Leadership

Beyond the Calculations: How Engineers Shape the Profession Through Volunteerism

Volunteering gives engineers a voice beyond their technical work — building leaders, shaping policy, strengthening professional communities and advancing the future of plumbing engineering.

Engineers are trained to solve problems. We calculate, analyze, design and develop systems that make our communities safer and improve everyday life. Yet some of the most meaningful work engineers do never appears on a set of construction drawings.


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Legal Pipeline

Know the Rules Before You Arbitrate

Businesses and consumers must understand the practical consequences of the rules they agree to follow, as they can determine what happens when procedural requirements are not met.
Steven Nudelman

Fine print is important. While lawyers often get paid to read the fine print, it is important that clients — individuals and businesses — read it, too. Just as important are the documents referred to or incorporated by reference into the fine print — or what I call the “finer print.”


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The Future Is Now

Trade Intelligence: Organize, Optimize and Scale

For plumbing contractors, the real promise of AI is not automation for its own sake, but a better way to preserve job knowledge, improve estimating and build smarter internal tools.
John Mullen

When people talk about artificial intelligence (AI) in construction, they jump straight to the shiny stuff: the robots, the automation, the blueprint-reading software, and the latest pitch that makes it sound like the trades have been standing still while everyone else has discovered the future.


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FPE Corner

Evaluating Oxygen Reduction Fire Prevention for Cold-Storage Warehouse Applications

This preventive alternative to traditional water-based fire protection continuously maintains oxygen levels low enough to limit fire spread, making it especially suitable for tightly enclosed, highly automated freezers with limited occupancy.

Cold storage warehouses present significant challenges for conventional water-based fire protection systems due to large quantities of combustible commodities, high-bay rack storage and complex storage arrangements. 


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