Quality of water has always been an important factor in the success of any foodservice operation. Between cooking, serving beverages to customers, washing dishes, making ice, and a variety of other tasks, restaurants need to use the cleanest, purest water available to ensure the health and safety of their customers. In 1974, the Environmental Protection Agency passed the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to reinforce this idea. The SDWA moves to keep the concentration of chemical and mineral contaminants below the accepted “safe for consumption” values in all sources of public drinking water.
One of the primary contaminants that many restaurants and businesses encounter is lead within the water pipes. According to the SDWA, all pipes (as well as all solder and flux used in plumbing applications) must meet the “lead-free” requirements as put forth by the bill. As of the most recent revision to the bill in 1996, solder and flux must contain no more than 0.2% lead, while pipes can contain no more than 8.0% lead. However, recent research has shown that this number is still too high to be considered safe for human consumption, and a new revision to the bill was proposed and passed in 2011.
The federal Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act will aamendthe Safe Drinking Water Act to limit the maximum concentration of lead in the surfaces of pipes and pipe fixtures to no greater than 0.25%. This is a massive decrease in lead concentration, and while it will improve the safety of public drinking water, it also means that many restaurants, businesses, and organizations may need to update their plumbing—especially those located in older buildings. The new regulations are slated to go into effect on January 4, 2014, giving businesses until the end of this year to update their plumbing.
While replacing pipes and outfitting for new regulations is certainly an expense and may even require some serious renovation work depending on your building’s layout, it is important not to overlook your plumbing fixtures. Regulations require that both plumbing and plumbing fixtures meet the new lead-free requirements, so be sure to update any old faucets and sprayers that do not meet the updated maximums.
Many foodservice plumbing fixture companies are currently in the process of converting their stock to comply with the new 2014 regulations. If your restaurant finds that it will be out of compliance come the beginning of next year, companies such as BK Resources can help get you and your restaurant what you need to stay under the legal lead limitations. Be sure to check your plumbing and equipment to determine if you need to upgrade your faucets and fixtures before January rolls around. Don’t wait until it’s too late—order now and save yourself the headache of last minute renovations during the holiday season.
