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:
“A book is like a man—clever and dull, brave and cowardly, beautiful and ugly. For every flowering thought there will be a page like a wet and mangy mongrel, and for every looping flight a tap on the wing and a reminder that wax cannot hold the feathers firm too near the sun.”
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)
“Ice is an interesting subject for contemplation. They told me that they had some in the ice-houses at Fresh Pond five years old which was as good as ever. Why is it that a bucket of water soon becomes putrid, but frozen remains sweet forever? It is commonly said that this is the difference between the affections and the intellect.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)