Omaha council passes plumbing code update, starting in 2028
OMAHA — Plumbers, small plumbing shops and homeowners replacing old water lines will work under an updated Omaha plumbing code starting Jan. 1, 2028, after the Omaha City Council approved the changes 4-3 on Tuesday, according to the meeting video.
The council voted on a rewritten version of the ordinance, called an amendment of the whole, brought by Council President Danny Begley. Before the roll call, the city clerk explained that "if the amendment of the whole passes, the item is done."
Begley told the council his version makes three changes. It pushes the start date to 2028. It requires plumbers to take 16 hours of continuing education in each two-year cycle. And it lets shops with 20 or fewer plumbers have two apprentices for each master plumber, while larger shops stay at one to one. He said smaller companies had told the council the one-to-one ratio was hard on them.
For homeowners, the change Council Member Peter Festersen called potentially the most helpful is allowing PEX plastic pipe, instead of copper, for the water line that runs from the street to a house. Festersen said many residents have lead connections they must replace, and that requiring copper makes that very expensive.
Begley said the Metropolitan Utilities District sent the council a letter the day before the vote raising water-quality and infrastructure concerns about PEX hookups and asking that the item be held at least six months. Festersen said he believes the later start date eases that concern for now by giving the city and M.U.D. time to work through it.
The council had delayed its vote on Oct. 27 after a long public hearing, where city staff and housing supporters backed the update and leaders of Plumbers Local 16 opposed it, as we reported.
Source: Omaha City Council meeting, Nov. 10, 2026, official video (item 27), with the meeting transcript via Citizen Portal; council member names from the Douglas County Election Commission.
How we checked this: Reported from the Omaha City Council's Nov. 10, 2026, meeting video and its transcript (via Citizen Portal) and the Douglas County Election Commission's list of elected officials, opened Nov. 11, 2026, at 5:28 a.m. CT, and checked against the record by our copy desk before publishing.