Fresh water management on board

Practical management of freshwater based on experience would be discussed here. Short voyages, frequent port calls, inefficient water production at times lead to any seafarer nightmare that is WATER RATIONING.

It is also a safety issue as ships designed for the Hyper-mist system require a minimum amount of water in the FW water tanks to ensure localized fixed fire fighting and UMS operation.

At noon total water production and total freshwater ROB are found and reported to the company along with the noon report.

The formula for FW consumption

Water Consumption= F.W ROB(Yesterdays)+FW PRODUCION(last 24 hr)—F.W ROB(Today) 

Depending on vessel and design (TOTAL F.W ROB can include a distilled water tank and drinking water tank)

Water consumption can be calculated from the above formula and depending on the vessel, number crew, general trends can be found out

Reason for abnormally high water consumption

1. FW being used for deck washing, tank cleaning and other operations
2. Reduced production from FWG due to poor maintenance(fouled condenser etc) 
3. leaks in the galley and in different part if accommodations 
4. leaks in the engine room from the jacket water system and other FW systems
5. leaks/abnormality  in boiler leading to higher distilled water consumption 
6. Crew consuming more water as the vessel is operating in hotter regions

Solution

1. Goes without saying periodic maintenance of FWG to be carried out with PMS of the vessel.
2. Dosing approved chemical for FWG 
3. Arresting or repairing all leak in the FW system - engine room, galley, deck, and accommodation.
4. Carrying out the boiler water test, and maintaining  it within limits 
5. Carrying out jacket water tests and maintaining within the limit

Proactive steps 

• Bring it out on safety meeting and training the crew on FW water management
• Encourage reporting of leaks however small.
• Pasting attractive poster on water conservation on the common areas (the only cost is printing a page and double-sided tape)
• Reducing the flush flow rate in all bathrooms using FW flushing systems