Why Better Water Belongs in a Modern Industrial Property

Key Takeaways

• Ready access to pure, delicious drinking water is a cost-effective improvement that helps support employee productivity—an amenity to attract and retain tenants.
• Water infrastructure planned early during development, renovation, or tenant improvement (“TI”) scoping avoids retrofit costs and workflow interruptions.
• Capacity, maintenance, and ease of installation: three things to consider when choosing a commercial water-filtration system.
• Standardized drinking-water infrastructure across properties streamlines operations—consolidating vendors and leveraging bulk-purchasing power.

Industrial properties are being evaluated on more than just occupancy costs, lease-term flexibility, location, and transportation access. According to a survey by CBRE, lessees are increasingly showing a preference for newer, high-quality facilities—energy-efficient spaces optimized to attract labor/talent and shorten production times.¹

Providing pure, delicious drinking water for tenants is a cost-effective improvement that helps a facility distinguish itself from the competition, supporting employee productivity while streamlining operations.

Does the Quality of Drinking Water Matter in an Industrial Building?

Yes. While there are not yet studies to support a question this specific, even mild under-hydration has been shown to negatively affect a person’s mood, concentration, cognitive ability, and perceived difficulty of tasks.² All of which could impact job performance and lessen productivity.

Confidence in available drinking water is a determining factor in whether people stay adequately hydrated throughout the day. An Environmental Working Group survey found that over 50% of Americans think tap water is unsafe and only 25% regularly drink it.³ Americans have good reason to be wary. According to a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, an estimated 45% of tap water nationwide contains PFOA & PFOS (“forever chemicals”), with higher rates near industrial and urban sites.⁴

Ready access to pure, delicious water from a trusted source can encourage proper hydration and help employees perform at their best, making for a more satisfying, profitable tenant experience.

When Should I Develop a Water-Infrastructure Plan?

Arranging for strategically placed bottle fillers and hydration stations should be considered as early as possible during property development, renovation, or TI scoping. And not just because making such timely decisions early can save on retrofitting costs and minimize workflow interruptions, since these systems have to connect with a building’s plumbing.

CBRE Research estimates that over the next 36 months, lease expirations will total more than 1.7 billion sq. ft of industrial space, sending the market into a major renegotiation cycle that may require more concessions by landlords to secure or retain tenants.⁵ Many landlords are already offering more generous TI allowances to win early lease renewals.⁶

What CBRE might call a “concession”—installing water-filtration systems for the health and productivity of tenants—others might deem an inexpensive way to ensure continued revenue. People tend to appreciate when the details of their environment reflect consideration for their business’ wellbeing.

What’s the Difference Between Industrial-Scale Water-Filtration Systems and Commercial Systems?

Industrial-scale filtration systems generally treat an entire property's water supply, and a large part of their purpose is often to extend the life of machinery or manufacturing equipment. Most commercial units, such as those made by AquaTru Pro, are point-of-use and strictly for potable water—like the bottle-fillers in airport terminals or freestanding hydration stations found in break rooms and warehouses.

What’s Important to Know before Buying a Commercial Water-Filtration System?

• Capacity. Approximately how many people will the unit serve? A break room might need a unit that can supply 25 people throughout the day, while one on a manufacturing floor may need to quench the thirst of 100.
• Maintenance. Do appointments need to be scheduled with specialized techs to handle something as routine as filter changes, or can filters be purchased direct at any time and replaced by any employee on site?
• Ease of Installation. How much plumbing is required to get the units up and running? If a retrofit, how much touch-up or construction is needed? The AquaTru Pro Series On-Walls, for instance, have large rear access cavities that allow for easier alignment and installation when working with rough-ins made for comparable models by Elkay, Halsey Taylor, Murdock and others. And their slightly larger overall footprint minimizes the need for wall repairs and conceals minor marks caused by mounting retired models.

On-Wall or Freestanding?

A freestanding water purifier functions as a central hydration point for a large or high-traffic area. A wall-mounted bottle filler might fit better in corridors, where space is a chief consideration. Depending on square footage, several stations spread across a facility could serve people more effectively than a single unit.

AquaTru Pro's freestanding and on-wall systems allow for flexibility, whether you’re dealing with individual floors in one building or a network of industrial spaces.

Does Standardizing Drinking-Water Infrastructure Make Sense?

Yes. Consistency across properties streamlines upkeep for facilities teams. Instead of dealing with multiple vendors to manage several systems, you work with one and can leverage bulk purchasing power for discounts on point-of-use units and replacement filters. If integrated across properties, a standardized, high-quality drinking-water program can become part of your brand—an amenity that shows marketable care, attracting and retaining tenants.

→ Schedule a site survey for a single property or multi-location portfolio.

FAQs

Does installing a drinking-water filtration system help with WELL or LEED certification efforts?

It’s best to research the full requirements for either certification on the organizations’ websites, especially as pathways to certification get updated from time to time. But at present, LEED refers to responsible water stewardship, not drinking-water quality, as a requirement for certification, although providing filtered water can earn you an optional single-point pilot credit.⁷ The WELL Building Standard requires a level of purity for all water that occupants come into contact with, including showers and sinks. There are two requirements: W01,⁸ which sets limits relating to turbidity and coliforms, and W02,⁹ which applies specifically to contaminants like lead and arsenic in drinking water. Point-of-use water-filtration systems, such as those from AquaTru Pro, can help meet the W02 purity threshold for WELL certification.

Does OSHA require employers to test drinking water quality on site?

No. OSHA's sanitation standard (29 CFR 1910.141) requires employers to provide potable water, which means water that meets state or local standards or EPA's National Primary Drinking Water Regulations.¹⁰ But OSHA has confirmed in letters of interpretation that the standard does not require testing the water on site.¹¹

Who typically pays for a filtration system’s maintenance in an industrial lease?

In triple-net leases, filter and maintenance expenses are often passed through to tenants as part of CAM charges; in gross leases, owners more commonly absorb the costs.

Can one water system serve multiple tenants in an industrial building?

Yes, when it's placed in shared common areas. But multi-tenant properties often do better with several smaller units spread across zones rather than one central unit that requires cross-tenant foot traffic.

How often do point-of-use filtration systems need filter changes?

It varies with water quality, but high-traffic locations typically see more frequent filter changes than lower-traffic break rooms, which is why matching system capacity to headcount matters.

Citations

1. https://www.cbre.com/insights/viewpoints/2026-us-industrial-and-logistics-occupier-survey
2. Armstrong, L.E., et al. “Mild Dehydration Affects Mood in Healthy Young Women.” Journal of Nutrition, vol. 142, no. 2, 2012, pp. 382–388. https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(22)02889-9/fulltext — and Ganio, M., et al. “Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men.” British Journal of Nutrition, vol. 106, no. 10, 2011, pp. 1535-1543. DOI: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/3388AB36B8DF73E844C9AD19271A75BF
3. Stoiber, Tasha. “EWG Survey: At Least 50 Percent of People Surveyed Think Tap Water Is Unsafe.” Environmental Working Group. August 2022. https://www.ewg.org/research/ewg-survey-least-50-percent-people-surveyed-think-tap-water-unsafe
4. Smalling, Kelly L., et al. "Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in United States tapwater." U.S. Geological Survey, Environment International, 2023. https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/tap-water-study-detects-pfas-forever-chemicals-across-us
5. https://www.cbre.com/insights/viewpoints/2026-us-industrial-and-logistics-occupier-survey
6. https://www.cbre.com/insights/books/us-real-estate-market-outlook-2026/industrial
7. https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-core-and-shell-commercial-interiors-existing-buildings/v5/wepc170?return=%2Fcredits%2FNew+Construction%2Fv5
8. https://v2.wellcertified.com/en/wellv2/water/feature/1
9. https://v2.wellcertified.com/en/wellv2/water/feature/2
10. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/1910.141
11. https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1997-06-10
    https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1996-10-24