**5. References**

 **20 μm** 


**1. Introduction** 

plumbing material for private properties.

interests in drinking water infrastructure.

**19** 

*USA* 

**Households' Preferences** 

**for Plumbing Materials** 

Ewa J. Kleczyk1 and Darrell J. Bosch2

*2Agricultural and Applied Economics Dept.,* 

Consumers' decisions on plumbing material selection are dictated by various factors, including state and federal regulations, service providers, and individual household preferences. The regulations and standards of the federal, state, and local governments have major impacts on the plumbing material chosen for installation in a private house. For example, the use of plastic plumbing material, such as PEX, has been approved in all U.S. states except for California and Massachusetts, where the material installation requires local jurisdiction acceptance. Similarly, in some parts of Florida, PEX is preferred due to the seriousness of pinhole leak1 problems (NSF, 2008). These regulations influence services provided by plumbers, material producers (e.g. pipe manufacturers, interior coating providers), and water utility companies. For example, general contractors are the primary decision-makers of plumbing material installation in new houses, while utility companies respond to corrosion threats by adding corrosion inhibitors to drinking water treatment. Consequently, all service providers influence consumer decisions, regarding the best

Homeowners have an important stake in finding plumbing system appropriate for their households, and they should rely not only on expert advice, but also acquire information on plumbing material attributes such as price, health impact, longevity, and corrosion resistance, in order to make informed investment decisions about plumbing systems for their homes. For example, health effects, water taste and odor have been found to be the most important factors in consumers' evaluations of plumbing material for home use (Lee et al., 2009). Additionally, households are willing to pay up to \$4,000 when guaranteed a leakfree plumbing system for 50 years (Kleczyk et al., 2006). Information on consumer preferences for drinking water plumbing attributes can be useful not only to individual households, but also to policymakers, program managers, water utilities, and firms with

1 Pinhole Leaks are a small holes that commonly are caused by pitting corrosion, a type of corrosion concentrated on a very small area of an inner pype. In most cases, pinhole leaks are hard to detect, if they are visible, they appear as green, wet area on pipe and porcelain fixtures (Kleczyk & Bosch, 2008).

*1ImpactRx, Inc., Horsham, Pa.,* 

*Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.,* 

