By Maryna Landman, MBA, director of Strategy & Compliance at Alpha Plumbing
The compliance-sensitive scope of plumbing extends far beyond what the market currently acknowledges. This is part one of a two-part series, written by Maryna Landman, director of Strategy & Compliance, Alpha Plumbing.
Supplied by Maryna Landman
Say “CoC” and the public says “geyser”
If you mention a plumbing CoC in South Africa, many people think of one thing only: a geyser.
This is already a problem. It makes compliance feel narrow. Appliance-specific. Almost administrative.
And when compliance becomes mentally trapped inside one appliance, the public starts missing the rest of the trade. And the rest of the trade is where some of the most consequential plumbing work actually sits: underground, behind walls, out of sight, and far too often out of mind.
That is the argument here.
It is not that geysers do not matter. They do.
But if the public still thinks plumbing compliance begins and ends with geysers, then the market is misunderstanding plumbing itself.
The certificate is not the compliance
A certificate is proof. Compliance is the condition of the work. They’re not the same thing, and the industry does itself no favours when it speaks as if they are.
The paper matters. Accountability matters. Traceability matters. But the certificate does not represent the plumbing. It does not create a proper fall on a drain. It does not correct a bad route. It does not fix a dangerous connection. It does not undo poor workmanship hidden under plaster or buried below ground.
That is why I am not really arguing for a form but about a mindset.
That distinction matters because too much of the conversation in South Africa has become paper-driven instead of trade-driven. People have learned to ask, “Is there a certificate?” before they ask, “Was the plumbing actually done properly?”
That is backwards.
Why the geyser stole the whole conversation
To be fair, it is not hard to see why geysers dominate the public imagination of plumbing compliance.
They fail visibly. They disrupt our comfort and damage our property, including ceilings and cupboards. Geyser failures trigger insurance claims. They create urgency and panic. They are easy to point to. And that’s why everyone makes a noise about compliance.
Fair enough. But visibility is not the same as importance.
And public attention is a terrible way to define the scope of a trade.
Plumbing is not fundamentally about hot water or limited to the repair economy of household emergencies. The WHO and World Plumbing Council frame it as a cornerstone for water supply, sanitation, drainage, waste removal, hygiene and public health.
That broader framing matters, because it immediately exposes how absurdly narrow the geyser-only view really is.
A trade that protects the health infrastructure of society cannot have a compliance culture built around one visible item and a piece of paper afterwards.
Compliance does not stop at the ceiling
This is where the public understanding needs to grow up.
Compliance does not stop at the hot-water system.
It also lives in drainage routes, sanitary connections, gradients, venting, access, material choices, testing discipline and installation judgement that most clients will never see and often do not know to ask about.
That invisible work matters just as much. In some cases, more.
Because hidden plumbing is where bad habits survive longest. The market notices what bursts. It does not always notice what is lurking and failing beneath the surface. And that is precisely why the geyser has hijacked the entire compliance conversation: it is visible enough to trigger concern, while buried plumbing is still allowed to pass as “fine” if nothing dramatic happens immediately.
That is not a serious standard.
That is a low-bar culture pretending to be practical.
A buried example that should end the myth
A prime example of the importance of plumbing compliance beyond geysers is sewer and sanitary drain work.
One industry compliance guidance source is clear: a CoC is not only linked to hot-water installations but is similarly compulsory for the construction, installation or alteration of any above- or below-ground sanitary drain.
That matters, because sewer and sanitary work is not peripheral plumbing. It is core plumbing. It affects hygiene, waste removal, system performance, blockages, leakage risks, long-term maintenance and the proper functioning of the built environment.
In other words, it’s not just a side issue or “other plumbing.”
And yet the public conversation still behaves as if compliance becomes serious only once a geyser enters the frame.
That is a dangerously stunted understanding of the trade.
To be continued in part two…
| Maryna Landman is the Director of Strategy & Compliance at Alpha Plumbing, serving Johannesburg and Pretoria. With 22+ years in the plumbing industry and a background in law and business (BCom, LLB, MBA), she writes about compliance, risk, and what it takes to build sustainable, professional plumbing businesses in South Africa. Connect with her on LinkedIn. |
References:
- City of Cape Town. Wastewater and Industrial Effluent By-law, 2013. Available at: https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Bylaws%20and%20policies/Wastewater%20and%20Industrial%20Effluent%20By-law%202013.pdf
- Plumbing Industry Registration Board (PIRB). When must I issue a PIRB CoC? Available at: https://www.pirb.co.za/Support/when-must-i-issue-a-pirb-coc/
- Republic of South Africa. Water Affairs. Available at: https://www.gov.za/about-sa/water-affairs
- South African National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act regulations. Regulation A18. Available at: https://www.saflii.org/za/legis/consol_reg/rutnbrabsa1977693.pdf
- World Health Organization and World Plumbing Council. Health Aspects of Plumbing. Available at: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/43423/9241563184_eng.pdf?sequence=1
- City of Cape Town. Residents to check for illegal stormwater-to-sewer connections as rainy season approaches. Available at: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/Residents%20to%20check%20for%20illegal%20stormwater-to-sewer%20connections%20as%20rainy%20season%20approaches
- Water Research Commission. Stormwater ingress in South African sewer systems. Available at: https://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/1731-1-1.pdf
- Department of Water and Sanitation. Annual Report 2024/25. Available at: https://www.dws.gov.za/Documents/AnnualReports/DWS_2024-25AnnualReport_30Sep2025_v27.pd
Supplied by Maryna Landman
