About
Chris Murtagh, the inventor of ShowerPower, held increasing areas of responsibility in the Centrifugal and Vertical Turbine Pump Manufacturing Industry for over 40 years. Murtagh’s career ranged from VP R&D and Business Development for the General Signal Pump Group to President and CEO of Federal Pump Inc. a NYC based pump manufacturer, providing pressurized pump systems to high rise buildings in New York City.
Murtagh was educated at New Jersey Institute of Technology studying Chemical Engineering and is a graduate of the Mahler Advanced Management Program. Murtagh’s knowledge of pump applications includes municipal water and wastewater pumping and pump treatment facilities, fire protection, deep well pump used for city water and residential applications, water pressure engineered pump booster systems in low- and high-rise buildings used in major global cities, flood water control stations, HVAC pump applications, residential sump and sewage pumps, steel mill and a variety of pump applications within the power, chemical process and oil refining industries. His knowledge of centrifugal pump capabilities along with practical application of these products provide the basis to design a less centralized method of controlling water pressure to support certain downstream locations. Applications from fractional to multi-thousand HP where Murtagh was engaged; all related to moving fluids from one place to another where gravity could not provide that resource.
Murtagh notes, “Regardless of the pump sizes and application we (our industry) engaged; we couldn’t get the pressures right for many shower heads! Systemic water supply pressure issues are increasing annually as local municipalities choose to either defer maintenance to the water supply systems, resulting in declines in water pressure to the homes, or simply do not have the funds and resources to repair that infrastructure. These unresolved issues require homeowners to purchase filtration devices or other means to ensure safe drinking water. As a result, Americans spent $14.4 Billion in 2019 for bottled water as they have lost trust in the quality of city water supply systems and have installed water filters in their homes to purify incoming supply. These inline filters or water purification devices reduce pressure especially in bathroom shower heads where decrease in water pressure is quite noticeable. In addition, Federal and local agencies limit water supply to the shower by requiring shower manufacturers to install flow restrictor devices in the shower heads that further reduce pressure to the user.”
Murtagh feels the combination of systemic water supply issues along with homeowner's desire to drink high quality water results in a decline in water pressure due to the addition of filtration systems within the home. Although not that visible in USA sinks, washing machines or dishwashers(many of these devices have built-in pumps), water pressure at the shower head is declining. Saving precious water along with improving the shower experience was the driving factor behind ShowerPower invention and its awarded patent.