Many organizations are planning and building laboratories in order to investigate dangerous biological agents, and those that will house caged animals may require an automatic water system.
Mad cow disease, West Nile virus, Anthrax, and now Monkey Pox, have all recently made news headlines. Consequently, many institutions and organizations are planning and building laboratories in order to secure research dollars to investigate dangerous biological agents. It is not uncommon for these facilities to require the use of laboratory animals for researching vaccines and other countermeasures. Laboratories that house large quantities of caged animals may require an automatic watering system to deliver the proper amount of this critical nutrient. Animals can go without food for days but will become stressed if deprived of water for even a few hours. Although the design professional will normally defer to the client concerning the decision of whether to use a watering system or not, it is important to review some of the factors involved in this process.