Tap water (running water, city water, municipal water, etc.) is potable water supplied to a tap (valve) inside the household or workplace. It is a principal component of "indoor plumbing", which became available in urban areas of the developed world during the last quarter of the 19th century, and common during the mid-20th century. The application of technologies involved in providing clean (potable) water to homes, businesses and public buildings is a major subfield of sanitary engineering. Calling potable water "tap water" distinguishes it from the other main types of potable water, such as water from rainwater-collecting cisterns, from village pumps (town pumps), or from streams, rivers, or lakes (whose potability varies).
Read more about Tap Water: Background, Potable Water Supply, Hot Water Supply, Fixtures and Appliances, Fittings and Valves, Regulation and Compliance, Waste Water, Water Flow Reduction/saving Water, Tap Water Versus Bottled Water, Cloudiness Due To Dissolved Gases
Famous quotes containing the words tap and/or water:
“Anna who was mad,
I have a knife in my armpit.
When I stand on tiptoe I tap out messages.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“All that could run or leap or swim
Whether in wood, water or cloud,
Acclaiming, proclaiming, declaiming Him.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)