Keep a required restaurant handwashing sink accessible and usable; a prep sink, warewashing sink or sanitizer bottle is not an automatic substitute. Identify the affected workstation and contact Maricopa County Environmental Services about safe operation. Stop affected operations when an imminent health hazard may exist, and obtain required approval before resuming discontinued work.
What about a nearby prep or three-compartment sink?
Those sinks have their own uses and contamination controls. Moving employees to them is not the same as providing an approved handwashing facility. The county's current food-establishment guide calls for hand sinks centrally located, visible and directly accessible, approximately 25 feet from food and beverage workstations.
Hand-sink placement explains the layout requirement. The restaurant health-inspection guide covers accessibility, supplies and plumbing protection. Use the hot-water failure checklist when the sink works mechanically but receives inadequate hot water.
When should operations stop and resume?
Food Code Section 8-404.11 requires discontinued operations and notification when an imminent health hazard may exist. An unaffected area can remain operating under its stated exception; the authority should assess the actual operation rather than a manager treating every station as unaffected.
Keep the repair findings and verify the sink works for its required use. Section 8-404.12 requires approval before resuming operations discontinued under the hazard rule or law. A sewage backup also needs contamination control after the drain repair. If the work changes the installation, check the county plan-review requirements separately.