September 2026 Newsletter

President's Report

September Greetings…and welcome to the 2026-27 Seattle Chapter year!

Thank you for allowing me to serve as the Chapter President these next two years. I am looking forward to working with the incoming board and committees as we start off this new term. We are here to serve you, the ASPE Seattle Chapter Membership, so please feel free to provide ideas, recommendations, and feedback (what you think works and what might need improvement) to the Board so that we can better represent what you would like to see in the Chapter.

I would like to give a special thanks to our chapter’s Past-President, Linda Burman, for doing a fantastic job as the President for the 2024-2026 term and for all her years serving the Chapter. She was recently awarded the 2026 ASPE Region 4 Director’s Award at this summer’s ASPE Region IV President’s meeting in San Diego. I welcome her continued involvement and guidance to the Seattle Chapter.

Here are your newly elected 2026-2028 Chapter Board of Directors and Committee Chairs:

The Chapter Board of Governors, which consists of the most recent Chapter Presidents, are:

In addition to those named above, a special thanks goes to Siba Vsankar who has helped in updating the Chapter’s LinkedIn page these past couple of years and continues to help out in that role.

For those new to the area…the ASPE Seattle Chapter holds General Meetings with technical presentations September through May at The Fig & Judge Restaurant, located on the 2nd floor of the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Seattle. We also have an annual golf tournament, WOA and AYP events, a joint product show with the ASHRAE Puget Sound Chapter.

This year we are looking to do a few new things that we hope will increase engagement, including a joint Chapter Meeting with ASHRAE, an Engineers Appreciation meeting (where engineers who are ASPE members get a free lunch), a Holiday Social, and a few other ideas we are still flushing out (no pun intended – smile).

We are excited to be sending a delegation to the upcoming ASPE Convention business meeting in Oklahoma City this October. At these meetings, the delegates debate/vote on proposed ASPE bylaw changes plus get to vote in the new ASPE Society officers. The Seattle Chapter will be sending 7 delegates and 2 alternates to attend these meetings:

-        Delegates:  April Ricketts, Dave Price, Daniel Bakun, Bryan Murdach, Maya Paletova -Staneva, Andrew Jarosh, and Linda Burman

-        Alternates:  Gail McGehee and Mike LeMaster

The Chapter will also be sending Ian McArthur, who ended up winning the raffle back at the Chapter Product show in March) to the convention. We look forward to seeing Ian and others of you who are making the trip to Oklahoma. As in years past, we are considering having a meetup/dinner for Seattle chapter members who will be there. If you are planning to attend and are interested in meeting up, please let me know.

Have a fantastic September!

Until Next Time…

April Ricketts, PE, CPD, LEED AP BD+C
ASPE Seattle Chapter President

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Specification Sales - ThermOmegaTech

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VP Technical Report

Hello Seattle ASPE,

We are excited to kick off the 2026-2027 season of monthly chapter meetings in just a couple of weeks! The September 9^th technical presentation will be: ‘PEX "A" vs PEX "B" - Performance & Installation Best Practices’ presented by Joe Maisano with Viega. Joe’s bio is below:

Joe Maisano has been involved in the plumbing industry for over 23 years with most of that time being with a wholesale company.  This gave him the foundation of plumbing and the desire to want to know more and continue to expand his knowledge.  4 years ago, he moved to Viega LLC and has been focused on selling Press Technology to many types of contractors and engineers.  Joes main focus with Viega is to educate as many contractors and engineers as possible when it comes to PEX tubing and fittings.  Joe currently lives in Colorado, with his wife and 3 adult children in college.  He would like to move to Florida and spend more time with family and friends.

Discussion topics will include:

·       Codes and Standards

Note that our October meeting will be shifted a week (to October 21^st) in consideration of the 2026 ASPE convention. This will be a joint ASPE/ASHRAE lunch meeting (speaker and topic TBD).

See you soon!

Dave Price, CPD, GPD

ASPE Seattle Chapter Vice President, Technical

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Guardian Safety

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VP Membership Report

Greetings ASPE Seattle members!

Follow the link below for future events including information on upcoming Technical Meetings!

 ASPE Seattle Chapter - Meeting/Event Information

Congratulations to our Members with September Birthdays and Membership Anniversaries!

 September Member Birthdays

Jacquie Burgard

Carmen Cejudo

Reginald Christor

Patrick Heinz

Joseph Lee

Ted Murphy

Dave Schlack

William Sullivan

September Membership Anniversaries

Bryan Murdach-VP Membership

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H2O Degree

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VP Legislative Report

Welcome Back

After a fast summer, we’re kicking off the 2026–2027 program year with fresh momentum. My goal is to keep our chapter informed and ahead of evolving codes, standards, and regulatory priorities.

State & Local Code Activity

Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC)

The SBCC reconvened on August 4, 2026, restarting the fall code‑development cycle. Topics included IMC updates, embodied carbon considerations, and multiplex housing sound transmission standards. https://sbcc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-08/sm08042026_rg.pdf

Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SDCI)

SDCI continues tightening expectations around cross‑connection control, especially for large campuses and mixed‑use developments, aligning with statewide requirements. State requirement: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-290-490

Seattle Public Utilities is migrating its backflow prevention database from XC2 to NJBSoft’s SAMS Cross‑Connection application as of August 17, 2026. Email submissions are discontinued; all test reports must be submitted through the SAMS Tester Portal with companies, testers, and test kits registered. https://www.seattle.gov/utilities/your-services/water/water-quality/backflow-prevention/regulatory-database-updates

National Standards & Model Code Updates

IAPMO – 2027 Uniform Plumbing Code

Early development work is underway, focusing on pipe sizing modernization, hydronic system safety, and alternate water source integration. https://www.iapmo.org/code-development

ASPE Standards Development

ASPE continues advancing several key standards, including ASPE/ANSI 45, 63, 78, and 95. https://aspe.org/publications-news/standards/

Federal & Regional Regulatory Trends

Water efficiency is a federal priority. The U.S. Department of Energy continues its multi‑year review of appliance and fixture performance standards, including flow‑rate requirements. https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/appliance-and-equipment-standards-program

Oregon Potable Reuse Pilot Program

The Pacific Northwest is pushing sustainability initiatives, with Oregon’s potable reuse pilot program likely to influence future Washington policy. https://www.oregon.gov/deq/wq/programs/pages/water-reuse-recycled-water.aspx

Closing Thoughts

This year will reward proactive engagement. Expectations around documentation, water safety, and conservation continue tightening across jurisdictions. I look forward to seeing you at the September meeting and discussing these developments together.

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McWane Technical Services

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Women of ASPE Report

Welcome back from summer break! We hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the summer and take some time to recharge. We also want to thank everyone for continuing to be involved with Women of ASPE and helping make it such a great group.

We had a great time at our joint ASHRAE + ASPE event at Lawless Forge in June. It was a fun night of networking, getting to know people across the industry, and trying something a new. We also had a great turnout at the ASPE Golf Tournament, and it was so nice getting to see everyone out there!

We’re excited to get back into the swing of things and have plenty more planned for the second half of the year. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at our upcoming Women of ASPE events and continuing to build a community where we can connect, network, and have a good time together. Stay tuned for what’s coming up.

-Gail McGehee

For more information about our organization, please visit our webpage on the ASPE site.

We invite you to follow us on social media for updates and details about upcoming events. Relevant WOA links and social media accounts include:

ASPE page: Women of ASPE - ASPE

Website: https://www.aspe.org/membership-global-community/membership/special-interest-groups/women-of-aspe/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/203299903473073
LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8462331
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womenofaspe/
Hashtag #WOASPE

If you are interested in supporting the advancement of women in the plumbing engineering industry, WOA provides valuable opportunities for professional networking, resource sharing, and leadership development.

To learn more about how you can participate at both national and local levels, please contact us via email.

We continually seek new members and welcome fresh ideas for collaborative activities and networking initiatives.

Region 4 Liaison

Linda Burman, PE

253-508-2658, [email protected]

WOA Liaison - Region 4 West

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WDS Design Engineers

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