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Plumbing Engineer

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July 2026

Volume: 54
Edition: 7

Our July 2026 issue honors the generations of tradespeople and engineers who made America truly livable. Inside, we explore how cutting-edge plumbing, HVAC, and fire protection systems safeguard public health—featuring a massive systems overhaul at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and critical case studies on live hospital renovations.

Articles

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Feature

From Bicentennial to Semiquincentennial: Plumbing the Modernization of the National Air and Space Museum

How nearly 20 miles of new piping, 4.4 million gallons of harvested rainwater, and a complete systems overhaul are preparing one of the world’s most visited museums for its next 50 years.
July 1, 2026

On July 1, 1976, President Gerald Ford dedicated the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum as “a perfect birthday present from the American people to themselves.” More than 1 million visitors passed through its doors in the first six weeks.


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Feature

Retrofitting Backflow Preventers Without Undercutting Sprinkler Performance

Adding a new backflow preventer to an older system may negatively impact fire protection system performance. Here are some best practices to ensure existing sprinkler systems operate as intended when adding backflow preventers.
July 1, 2026
Christopher Culp, PE, CET

Some existing systems were never hydraulically calculated. Some were designed around pipe schedules. Some have little or no remaining safety margin. Add a backflow preventer without understanding the available water supply, system demand and device pressure loss, and a system that once appeared adequate may fail to deliver.


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Feature

Working in Existing Buildings

To address aging hospital systems, design teams are using facility condition assessments and carefully phased upgrades to improve reliability while keeping operations running.
July 1, 2026

In a 2025 article in Health Facilities Management titled “Deferred maintenance and master planning,” author Mike Mochel discusses the growing need for organizations to prioritize infrastructure renewal due to building age and systems that are beyond their serviceable life.


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Feature

A Faster Way to Find Crossflow Problems

Point-of-use mixing valves with built-in visual indicators and serviceable components are simplifying troubleshooting and repairs.
July 1, 2026

Ask any facility manager or plumber, and they’ll tell you that identifying and fixing crossflow issues is one of the challenges that costs them significant time and effort on the job.


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Feature

Repair, Replace or Wait It Out?

How to navigate HVAC decisions in a time of ongoing uncertainty.
March 2, 2026

Tariffs, inflation and rising equipment costs continue to reshape the HVAC landscape, and wholesale distributors remain squarely in the middle of that transition. 


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Columns

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Collaborative Healthcare Design

The Latest FGI Guidelines and Sink-Mounted Eyewash Station Changes

Many infection-control teams are increasingly rejecting these emergency units due to concerns about cross-contamination and waterborne pathogens.
July 1, 2026
John Gregory

In hospitals and outpatient facilities, the Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) is the standard basis for patient care and staff safety requirements for engineering and architectural firms to follow


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Legal Pipeline

Know the Forms of Arbitration Awards Before Agreeing to Arbitrate

Absent a statutory violation under the relevant arbitration act, a court will likely uphold the parties’ agreed-upon selection of the award’s form, regardless of their satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with the award’s contents.
July 1, 2026
Steven Nudelman

It always cracks me up at the start of a deposition when one of the lawyers says to me, or another lawyer, “Usual stipulations?” What on earth are they talking about? There is no such thing as “usual stipulations.” 


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FPE Corner

Reengineering Fire Protection in Parking Structures

Better real-time fire data and thoughtful design decisions — especially around EV charging layouts — are essential to improving safety in future parking garages.
July 1, 2026

Did you know the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) estimates approximately 650 parking garage fires occur annually in the United States, resulting in an estimated $8 million in property damage and 15 injuries each year?


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Code Classroom

The History of Backflow Prevention and Plumbing Codes, Part 1

Major events — especially the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair amoebic dysentery outbreak — led to better research, plumbing codes and the development of testable backflow prevention devices.
July 1, 2026
Ron George

The history of backflow prevention is a story of public health incidents over the years, in which health officials and members of the plumbing industry learned the dangers and health hazards associated with cross-connections after investigating backflow incidents that sickened and killed many people. 


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