title = "Water Usage Reduction in Metal Manufacturing"

content = """
Water is consumed at Ridgecrest Metalworks in coolant systems, parts washing, surface treatment lines, wastewater treatment operations, and facility sanitation. Reducing water consumption lowers operating costs, reduces wastewater treatment requirements, and supports the facility's ISO 14001 environmental objectives.

**Coolant system water management.** Water-soluble coolant systems are the largest water consumer on the production floor. Water evaporates from sumps continuously during machining; sump levels must be maintained with fresh water to keep concentration in range. Strategies to reduce this consumption:
- Maintain sump covers when machines are not running to reduce evaporation.
- Use concentration management software or daily refractometer checks to add only the water needed—over-dilution wastes both water and coolant concentrate.
- Extend coolant life by maintaining proper pH and controlling tramp oil, which reduces the frequency of complete sump dumps and refills.
- Deploy coolant recycling/filtration units (centralized coolant systems with fine filtration and tramp oil removal) to extend coolant service life.

**Parts washing.** Parts washing machines use heated water with detergent additives. Best practices:
- Batch parts efficiently—do not run a half-empty washer for one or two parts.
- Replace wash water on a condition basis (pH, oil concentration, cleanliness), not on a fixed calendar schedule—with proper management, wash water life can be doubled.
- Use a rinse water recirculation system; cascade rinse stages reuse prior stage water before discharge.

**Surface treatment lines.** Phosphating, anodizing, and plating lines have significant water rinse requirements. Counter-current rinsing (fresh water enters the cleanest rinse stage first and flows backward through progressively more contaminated stages) reduces water use by 50–80% compared to single-stage rinsing.

**Leak detection.** Water leaks in coolant supply lines, hydraulic systems, and process piping are often invisible and can waste thousands of gallons per day before detection. Any wet floor under a machine or at pipe joints must be investigated and reported. The maintenance team performs periodic water meter checks at main sub-meters to identify unexplained consumption.

**Stormwater.** Minimizing impervious surface runoff through good housekeeping (no process fluids left on outdoor paved areas) prevents contaminated water from requiring treatment.

Water usage (gallons per unit produced) is tracked and reported annually as part of the ISO 14001 environmental objectives review.
"""

version = "0.0.1"
