Include sanitation and potable-water dependencies in outage plans

Treat this document as a focused evidence review: Include sanitation and potable-water dependencies in outage plans. Only the official source and traced locations below supply facts. Confirm applicability before acting.

Source fact:

The official 29 CFR 1910.141 – Sanitation from Occupational Safety and Health Administration via eCFR supports the following bounded statements:

• Under 29 CFR 1910, the rule requires that nonpotable water not be used for washing any portion of the person, cooking or eating utensils, or clothing. The research record locates this support at 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(2)(iii) (eCFR anchor p-1910.141(b)(2)(iii)).
• Under 29 CFR 1910, the rule requires that potable water be provided in all places of employment, for drinking, washing of the person, cooking, washing of foods, washing of cooking or eating utensils, washing of food preparation or processing premises, and personal service rooms. The research record locates this support at 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1)(i) (eCFR anchor p-1910.141(b)(1)(i)).

The source support ends with the statements listed above. Use them to examine essential functions, upstream providers, recovery sequences, alternate work paths, and tested recovery objectives in the applicable environment, not to imply a wider guarantee.

What the source does not establish

Federal workplace rule; public-health, plumbing, food-service, and local requirements may impose additional or more specific controls. Do not read the source as proof of implementation or permission to change production. Its guidance remains conditional on identity, DNS, communications, facilities, suppliers, and the people authorized to invoke recovery and the environment’s recorded constraints.

Applicability questions

• For source statement 1 at 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(2)(iii) (eCFR anchor p-1910.141(b)(2)(iii)), which observable configuration, record, or test can confirm applicability here?
• For source statement 2 at 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1)(i) (eCFR anchor p-1910.141(b)(1)(i)), which observable configuration, record, or test can confirm applicability here?
• Which deployed instance of essential functions, upstream providers, recovery sequences, alternate work paths, and tested recovery objectives will be compared with the source, and why that instance?
• How will the review distinguish a source mismatch from a failure in identity, DNS, communications, facilities, suppliers, and the people authorized to invoke recovery?
• Who approves the conclusion, exception, test window, and rollback threshold?

DSE recommendation:

DSE recommends using the cited source as the evidence anchor for this decision. Make the source, asset scope, owner, and expected outcome explicit in the review record. Record the source location, examined part of essential functions, upstream providers, recovery sequences, alternate work paths, and tested recovery objectives, observed and expected states, owner, and reason for deviation.

Do not move from citation to production in one step. Pilot the decision where practical, observe agreed signals, retain a reversal point, and verify identity, DNS, communications, facilities, suppliers, and the people authorized to invoke recovery. Handle credentials, keys, recovery data, and personal information through approved secure channels.

Verification and evidence

Evidence should let another reviewer reproduce this decision. Retain observations beside the traced locations 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(2)(iii) (eCFR anchor p-1910.141(b)(2)(iii)); 29 CFR 1910.141(b)(1)(i) (eCFR anchor p-1910.141(b)(1)(i)). Favor business-impact records, dependency maps, exercise results, recovery timings, and open corrective actions, linked to stable identifiers, time, and operator.

Record the decision even when no change is made, including uncertainty and the next trigger. Use safe testing conditions for disruptive work, preserve rollback proof, and revisit the conclusion after relevant platform, dependency, vendor, or ownership changes.

Official references

• 29 CFR 1910.141 – Sanitation — Occupational Safety and Health Administration via eCFR