Lots of good thoughts here. I like the three bucket method for keeping some usable water back in the space but apparently some people can’t throw out two inches of water, I really don’t see them handling large buckets. Hefting a large bucket into the janitor’s sink would be tricky and the only place to pour is out front, there is no place to pour in the back.
I’ve never had a problem with dirty hands. I fill a small bucket before I start and make whatever I’m making. I clean my hands and do a first pass on my tools with the water in my bucket. I then take my tools and bucket to the maintenance sink for final cleaning. If I’m throwing for a long time I might bring two small buckets, one for making, one for washing my hands.
At this point, I think we are going to need to go to a personal responsibility model where users need to bring their own water to the workshop and dispose of their water when finished. I’ll keep working on other solutions (there is also an effort to get water back to the workshop in the future) and see whether the personal responsibility model works out. I’ll also check out lidded buckets for water fetching.