The first World Plumbing Conference to be held in New Zealand drew praise from many quarters - speakers, delegates, trade exhibitors and officials.

Attended by 300 delegates from 15 countries, the four day conference with a theme of "our water, our wealth, our health," was received as highly educational, entertaining, enlightening and of interest and value to all delegates.

As one of five gold sponsors of the conference, Crane Distribution (NZ) Limited took a high profile in the midst of the trade exhibition with prominent displays by Iplex Pipelines and Wavin Plumbing Products, Mico Plumbing & Pipelines and MasterTrade.

The international event attracted speakers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand, and focused on the important role plumbing plays in public health, the role of the plumber in protecting the environment, leading edge tools and concepts which impact on plumbing and ways to improve the profitability and efficiency of businesses.

The conference - hosted by Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ Inc and held at Sky City Convention Centre from March 3-5 - was officially opened by the Minister of Health, Annette King. She said clean water and proper sanitation systems remain the most effective public health measures. "We all know that inadequate water supply or sewage disposal systems can create widespread health problems and contribute significantly to health inequities," she said.

As an example, several speakers examined the SARS epidemic of 2003, described by one "as a big wake up call for the world." Causing at least 770 deaths in 27 countries, speakers said the epidemic could be directly linked to an inadequate plumbing system which contributed to the transmission of the SARS virus.

Others were more specific about the virus, which is estimated to have had an economic impact of $30 billion, saying a defective trap was the root cause of the spread of the virus. A speaker told the conference that a "dry trap with a fan running" caused the spread of the disease. "Analysis of defective traps made us realise that dry traps are a potential hazard," he said.

The conference also explored "the baby boom influence" and the impact of the baby boom on shortages of skilled tradespeople, described as "an almost worldwide phenomenon." Delegates heard that as high as 77 percent of the baby boomers in plumbing trades in the United States and Canada were expected to retire in the next 25 years That projected figure would dramatically increase if the trend towards early retirement continued. Countries needed an aggressive workforce replacement programme to address the anticipated skills shortages.

A recent survey in New Zealand identified a shortage of almost 1500 tradespeople - registered craftsmen, plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers and apprenticesby the end of this year.