1

飲み水としての使用が認められている一部の井戸を除き、あくまでも生活用水として使うのが大原則です。(article)

The difficulty I have is that according to this definition of 生活用水, 飲用 is one of the utilizations so I don't know how I should interpret the sentence since if the waters are recognized as suitable for 生活用, they should also be suitable for 飲み水としての使用.

What I understand from the japanese sentence: "Excepting the wells where the usage of the water as a drinking water is approved,using the water as a daily life water is generally acceptable".

If a certain water is not approved as a drinking water, it also shouldn't be approved as a "daily life water" since in the japanese definition of the japanese term for daily life water, drinking is one of the daily life uses. So it doesn't seem to make sense to separate waters according to these two terms.

Improve this question
3
  • Please try to use more specific question titles. No one can tell what "What does this sentence mean?" is about without reading the question.
    – user1478
    Jun 23, 2018 at 19:04
  • @snailboat If I'm not sure about where the problem is, how should I do ? The incoherence with the terms for water tells me that I'm wrong somewhere but not necessarily about the meanings of the water terms(it could be a misunderstanding of the sentence that led me to an imaginary incoherence).
    – Jirei
    Jun 23, 2018 at 21:01
  • 2
    辞書には、生活用水に飲料用も含まれていますが、飲料用と掃除などのその他の用法を生活用水として分けている時もあると思います。
    – Yuuichi Tam
    Jun 24, 2018 at 10:55

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

Yes, in principle, the term 生活用水 should include drinking water as well, especially when contrasted with 工業用水 "industrial water" or 農業用水 "agricultural water". But in this context you have no choice but understanding this word as "domestic water other than drinking" because the article repeatedly reminds us so.

災害時には飲み水以外にも、食器を洗ったり洗濯をしたりと、さまざまな用途の「生活用水」が必要となります。

飲み水とは別に生活用水を確保するため、区内96か所が指定されています。

飲み水を備蓄する動きは広がっていますが、生活用水の確保もふだんから念頭に置いて、

I don't particularly find the usage very strange, probably because when we simply say "use water" in Japanese (not sure whether in English), we don't typically associate with "drinking". (Just in case, 用水 means "water for use" or "water usage" literally.) It's something like a mismatch that all of us now know shellfish and jellyfish are not fish while still calling them so.

Improve this answer
0

I think you are confused with the definition of 生活用水. If there is the sign says "you can drink" or you are told you can drink, the water from well is pure enough so that you could use it for washing, bathing, cleaning and so on.

However the water from well is normally not purified enough since it contains water from rain or something, so you should avoid to drink it other than in emergency or something.

The 生活用水 you use in household or restaurant should already be went through the process of purification, so it is different from the water from well and you can drink it.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    I've tried to add sentences to make clearer my question because I don't have the impression that this answer addresses really the problem.
    – Jirei
    Jun 24, 2018 at 7:57

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .