The International Code Council, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), signed an agreement with the Collège National des Ingénieurs et Architectes Haïtiens (CNIAH) to raise the level of plumbing and sanitation standards in Haiti.

CNIAH, in partnership with Haiti’s Ministère des Travaux Publics, Transports et Communications (MTPTC) and with the support of the USAID Local Enterprise and Value Chain Enhancement Project (LEVE), will use the Code Council’s 2015 International Plumbing Code (IPC) to develop the first National Plumbing Code of Haiti. Currently the island nation already adopts and enforces the International Building Code. The IPC is being translated into French and will be available sometime in 2018.

Phase one of the LEVE project to create a sustainable plumbing industry in Haiti was to assess and define the plumbing industry and choose the best plumbing code option for the country. The IPC was analyzed and found to meet the needs of the local industry as well as the international interests assisting to rebuild after the natural disasters Haiti has experienced.

The IPC is part of the International Codes family, a set of fifteen coordinated, comprehensive and modern building safety codes that are widely used and adopted in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, the Code Council and CNIAH will work together on training and education for governmental officials, designers, contractors and others responsible for the safe installation of plumbing systems in Haiti.

"The Code Council is a stalwart proponent of modern, regularly updated building safety codes and standards to promote the creation of safe buildings and resilient communities globally,” said Code Council Board President Jay Elbettar, P.E., CBO, LEED AP, CASp. "We are excited to be working with Haiti on this groundbreaking initiative, which will improve the lives and wellbeing of residents across the Caribbean nation."

"MTPTC is proud to play a major role in this important project. Delivering a safer sanitation system and raising the level of protection for the water supply is critical to every nation and its people. If we can accomplish this while uplifting an entire industry, everyone wins. We look forward to collaborating with the International Code Council to raise the level of awareness of plumbing codes, standards and professional practice," said the Director General of MTPTC Charles Raymond Pierre, Eng.

"Haiti joins a long list of countries who use the I-Codes as a basis for their building safety codes. Through this partnership, we look forward to helping Haiti build their national plumbing code and train the officials that maintain the system," said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO.