The Science and Engineering building has six separate water systems which loop through the building for different uses. While some directly support the research, others support the mechanical systems of the building.
- Polished Water System: The polished water (PW) is generated at the 1st floor mechanical room, looped through the building, and made available in the wet laboratories. The water is polished to remove salts through mixed resin ion exchange, particles as small as 0.2 µm through filtration, and microbes through UV sterilization. Water from the PW faucets are consistently measured as having resistivity of 2.5 to 4.0 Megaohms. (Higher resistivity = low conductivity = less ions in the water)
- Industrial Water System: This system supplies the laboratory sinks only. Given the higher risk of contaminates making its way into the plumbing in the event of pressure loss, this system is isolated from the domestic water system using back flow prevention hardware.
- Processed Chilled Water System: The processed chilled water system acts as a heat rejection loop in the building. Instrumentation which requires almost constant cooling is connected to this system either directly or with a chiller. The processed chilled water system is maintained at 60°F and has 50 tons of capacity. The heat picked up by the loop is ultimately rejected to the exterior at the Satellite Energy Plant (SEP).
- Reclaimed Water System: This system is reclaimed water for flushing toilets and urinals in the building restrooms. This water is reclaimed from the Polished Water systems and from the building humidifiers.
- Domestic Water System: The domestic water is plumbed to bathroom sinks, kitchenette sinks, and water fountains only. Domestic water systems have safety systems, such as backflow prevention, in order to ensure high quality water and minimize contamination risk of drinking water.
- Chilled Water System: This water system is used for cooling in the HVAC system.