Implications
•
The unique chemical structure of water makes it well suited to
fulfilling a diversity of essential roles in the body.
•
Defining the water requirement of the pig is particularly challenging because intake can be affected by a number of metabolic, physiological, and behavioral factors and because adlibitum
intake is not always a reflection of need.
•
The quality of drinking water can be a serious problem in regions known to possess aquifers containing problematic ions
such as sulfates, iron, manganese, or nitrates.
•
Both the cost and the availability of water will almost certainly
become a bigger issue in many regions of the world in the com-
ing future