Categories of Contaminated Water

12/13/2021 (Permalink)

Widespread flooding can create contamination problems which bring harmful conditions.

Sometimes we will call about a job that isn’t the most desirable, but we will never turn it down. A job site affected by a sewage leak or flooding can carry harmful bacteria that comes in contact with or is ingested can cause severe discomfort. When going into an area affected by a contaminated source, we will have our crew wear the complete PPE to secure their health and safety. 

Categories of Contaminated Water

Category 1: “Clean Water”

This category is when a leak comes from a clean source from a broken water pipe. A toilet containing no urine or feces is considered a category one since it has no harmful pathogens. Category one floods will escalate to category 2 or 3 if it doesn’t get mitigated.

Category 2: “Gray Water”

In this category, you are looking for the possibility of contamination from a water source containing some degree of contamination. When gray water gets ingested, it can create some discomfort due to the ingestion of harmful bacteria. 

Category 3: “Black Water”

Water contaminated by an unclean source will be considered category three because it has been affected by a source that has harmful pathogens. The difference between category 2 is that when category three gets ingested, it can create severe pain with the possibility of death due to these harmful pathogens. We will never suggest that our clients should put themselves in contact with this category for that reason. Flood water is an excellent example of this category because you cannot know where the source came from, such as a pipe, river, or sewage from an unclean source.