What is "industrial water"?

I have a sink in my lab that has a placard saying "Industrial Water, Non-Potable" and my question is, what exactly is industrial water? There's an office upstairs that has 'real water' in it. Is industrial water unclean, does it have heavy metals in it? Is it run with cheaper pipes, or do they get their water from a different source? Is it really cheaper to run a whole different set of piping throughout the building just to use different water in the labs? An even then, why would water that's not okay for my GI tract be okay for cleaning beakers or washing hands?

Curious. h

Reply to
Halvey
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Non-potable should designate that it does come from a different source. But, who knows, maybe they just didn't want employees drinking from the lab sinks...

Jim

Reply to
Speedy Jim

Simple description: Non-Potable

What makes it non-potable does not necessarily make it unsafe to use for cleaning, flushing toilets, etc. The water may not meet the guidelines for a particular factor that is tested. In one case, I know of a well that has water with 300 ppm chlorides, but the health department sets 200 ppm as maximum. This does not mean the water is not sanitary, but over the long haul, it is not good to drink. Could be many other reasons also.. Ed

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Not purified for human consumption, more likely not clorinated.

Possibly, if water or treatment is expensive in that area.

Cooling (condensing) applications that require constantly running water, or for large water usages.

No, not ok for washing hands, think germs. It could even be re-cycled water, depending on how expensive water is.

Reply to
John Hines

Water,

industrial

building

source.

I wouldn't really want to be routinely washing my hands in "non-potable" water. If it were me, I would sure ask what about that water is non-potable.

Having worked in a bio-chem lab in college, we sure never rinsed our beakers in "sink water." (And I don't recall any "non-potable" signs.) We washed them with acid and rinsed them with distilled water. Depends on the work you're doing, though.

Bill

Reply to
bill

I've got a better question since everybody knows what "nonpotable" means and "industrial water" is obviously a generic term that could mean anything. The question, Why don't you ask the maintenance or water control people where you work, since nobody here can do anything but provide wild guesses.

And to answer your other questions, yes it is cheaper to run a second set of pipes, it all depends on the cost of the water and its intended use. You certainly don't need potable water to flush urnials and WCs, wash and mop floors or for most cleaning other cleaning jobs including washing your "dirty" hands. We have "irrigation water" which we spray all over the backyard and use to wash dirt off our hands and shovels, etc. It is surface water which is untreated and high quality, but not germ free, and at lower reaches increasingly contains nitrates and insecticides. Oh yeah, the kids swim in the canal even though it is dangerous. Ever paddle a canoe or ride in a boat and get any of that nasty untreated water on you?

Curious?, not much, or you would ask the pe>

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Does it glow green, does it smell like sewage, you work in a lab and are asking us? OK Sounds like Industral waiste with every poisonous chemical made. Or plain old well water, ask your boss.

Reply to
m Ransley

If you ever drive to Florida on I-95 shortly after you cross the state line from Georgia you can stop at a "Florida Welcome" facility - in the numerous rest rooms the signs on the lavatory sinks warn that the water supply is not potable - it was my understanding that water used in the rest rooms and janitorial areas is obtained from the sewerage processing plant on the site where it is processed to a level that permits its use for all other purposes than for human consumption.

Our local water supply is metered and based on consumption residents are charged for sewer service - if you have a lawn irrigation system you can opt to have a second water meter installed for measurement of the water used for irrigation and it is not included in the calculation of the home owners sewer charges. Some sections of the town have a separate "gray water" service that is used for this and that water is supplied by the sewerage processing plant by diverting a portion of the water that it produces that used to be disposed of in the local rivers.

Reply to
avoidspam

It is pretty simple. Many buildings have the main water supply split into two delivery systems after it enters the building. The potable water supply must have back-flow preventers installed to help insure that the water in the pipes remains as clean as it can. The water quality is periodically tested if your company has such a program.

The non-potable system does not have the back-flow preventer and may be used for wash sinks, hose bibs, fire protection, boiler makeup, etc. It's the same water.

DT

Reply to
DT

I am working on the construction of a new lab building. For this building the domestic and industrial water come from the same source - the city water main. Once it enters the building it is split into industrial water and domestic water. The industrial serves the lab sinks and the domestic serves the bathrooms and drinking fountains. I've noticed in other labs that they make coffee with industrial water........ Next time I see the plumbing engineer guess I'll have to ask the question!

Reply to
Doug McGinnis

Where I work there are two separate water systems: potable water for drinking fountains, coffee machines, the cafeteria, etc, and a second system for everything else from the toilets, sinks in the bathrooms, to industrial process use. The drinking water is supplied by the city and the rest is supplied by the company's own water treatment plant. I work at a large industrial site that uses enough water for industrial processes that it pays to have it's own water treatment plant right next to the city water treatment plant. Apparently they can run the plant for cheaper than what the city charges for water. I'm told that the "industrial water" is normally just as clean as the city water, except that they don't do as much water quality testing and don't want to go through the hassle of keeping the water legally certified as potable. I know they do at least some regular testing because we get warnings when the company water supply doesn't meet the standards for some parameter.

Ken

Reply to
Ken Carlson

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