Water quality varies across the country due to many factors. Variations in the water supply are primarily found in the mineral content and suspended particles that differ from one water source to another.
Local towns are in charge of delivering safe, freshwater supplies for public consumption; however, home and business consumers are free to determine the level of water quality for appliances, food equipment, and beverages.
There are typically three remaining concerns with supplied water quality beyond local towns: sediment, taste and odor, and excessive mineral content. For restaurant and foodservice equipment, the primary concern is mineral content; whereas for beverages, it’s taste and odor.
A common problem with water quality is sediment and suspended particles. Depending on the season, during drought or flood conditions, sediment will tend to be heavy in the water supply from silt, sand, algae or minerals. For foodservice equipment, suspended particles, and sediment will cause clogging and mineral scale issues. This can lead to dispensed ice and beverages to look cloudy or flat.
Sediments, minerals, and heavily chlorinated water cause equipment to work harder and consume more water and energy than necessary. For example, a commercial ice machine will take longer to harvest ice, and excessive particulates will cause the ice to be cloudy, and melt much faster than ice from a filtered source. For beverages, the problem is much more unpleasant and noticeable. Poor water quality will be cloudy, contain odors, chlorine, and minerals. This can easily ruin beverage clarity, taste, and carbonation for consumers.
Freshwater filtration can make a huge difference in the service quality of restaurants and foodservice kitchens. Sure, we trust our suppliers to be safe and reliable with our water. However, we need to consider conservation, consumption, and customer care, or the 3 C’s approach to pure water operations.
- Conservation institutes water and energy management into daily operations.
- Consumption considers volume use.
- Customer care delivers consistent beverage and ice quality that is safe for consumers and offers the best flavor.
In foodservice, the 3 C’s approach is an excellent way to understand how to save money, operate more efficiently, and deliver the highest quality food and beverages to satisfy your customers. Water quality will vary season to season, area to area, but for a foodservice operator the challenge will be how to make the source pure and consistent throughout operations. No matter what state or town, quality and conservation should be an operation concern for everyone.
To learn more about our 3 C’s approach and treatment systems please check out our website for the right filter system for your equipment. Protect your investment with Pentair Everpure foodservice filtration systems.
