10 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News
systems.
The U.S. Coast Guard has standards
applicable to potable water and waste-
water systems at its units afloat and
ashore, but has not utilized them outside
the agency. The USCG Marine Safety
Center has developed rudimentary
guidelines for review of potable water
systems when those systems are includ-
ed in ship construction plans submitted
for agency review. Unfortunately, there
is no requirement that a potable water
system be included in the construction
plans submitted to the Coast Guard and
not all ship construction plans are sub-
mitted to the Coast Guard for review.
The U.S. Navy, Bureau of Medicine
and Surgery, has a Manual of Naval
Preventive Medicine. One chapter of
this manual is devoted to water supply
afloat. It addresses such issues as
receipt and transfer of potable water,
storage and distribution, and disinfec-
tion, among other things. One section is
devoted to potable water on smaller ves-
sels (yard craft, in Navy parlance) that
lack their own water production capabil-
ity. The manual also addresses recom-
mended amounts of potable water for
various uses on a per person per day
basis: drinking (0.5 to 1 gallon); galley
and scullery (1.5 to 4 gallons); personal
and hygiene (5 to 20 gallons); and laun-
dry (5 to 10 gallons).
Norway promulgated guidelines and
regulations for potable water systems
and potable water supply on offshore
units, such as platforms and drills ships,
operating under Norwegian jurisdiction.
The Norwegian Institute for Public
Health issued a lengthy checklist for
design of potable water systems on off-
shore units. For vessels and offshore
units with water production systems, it
recommends that there be at least two
production units, each capable of pro-
ducing at least 100% of the water need-
ed, or three production units, each capa-
ble of producing at least 50% of the
water needed. The number and size of
potable water tanks is to be based on the
vessel's potable water production capa-
bility and the size of the crew. The
agency provides minimum standards for
the vessel's potable water manual.
Finally, it includes a handy listing for a
potable water quality criteria and recom-
mended analysis program. This pro-
gram addresses subjective factors such
as smell, taste, and appearance, along
with objective factors such as pH value,
conductivity, free chlorine, color, e-coli
count, copper, ammonia, benzene, lead,
etc. The International Organization for
Standardization (ISO), located in
Geneva, Switzerland, has developed
standards for potable water supply on
ships and marine structures. These stan-
dards come is two parts: (1) planning
and design; and (2) method of calcula-
tion. Classification societies include
potable water systems in their rules and
regulations for building and classing
ships. The American Bureau of
Shipping (ABS) has also published a
guide for crew habitability that address-
es potable water systems and related
issues.
Summary
Potable water is a basic human neces-
sity - more important than food.
Crewmembers on ships have as much
need for, and right to, potable water as
persons ashore. It is assumed that the
number of U.S. ships with inadequate
potable water systems is very low, but
the number should be zero. Guidance
and basic regulations should resolve any
problems. If nothing else, this rulemak-
ing project can serve to focus the atten-
tion of the industry on this important
issue and lead ship owners and operators
to double-check the potable water sys-
tems on their vessels. This is a low cost
effort that will pay important dividends -
and one that everyone can fully support.
Comments on the rulemaking project
should be sent to:
Docket Management Facility (USCG-
2005-20052)
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590-0001
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