PLUMBING—WATER-SUPPLY,

AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS

Part One : Cold Water and Supply Systems

Storage and Distribution of Water

Components of a water supply system

A Water supply system (water works) is complex system of structures performing the duty of
water supply, that is getting it from the natural source, purifying it transporting and distributing it to
the users. The basic components of water supply system include:

Collection works,
transmission works,
purification works, and
distribution works
Collection works are the structures that either collect source of supply continuously adequate in
volume or convert an intermittently insufficient source into a continuously adequate supply.
Collection works may be in form of river diversion structures, dam reservoir and intakes, borehole or
wells, spring capping, etc.
Conversion in form of reservoir is done to ensure adequacy due to seasonal variation or
draught.
When the quality of the collected water is not satisfactory, purification works are introduced to
render it suitable for the purposes;
Purification may includes:
-disinfecting contaminated water ;
-making attractive and palatable esthetically displeasing water;
-deferrized and demanganized water containing iron and manganese;
-deactivating corrosive water and
-Softening hard water, etc.
Transmission works convey the collected water to the water treatment plant and/or purified
water to the community
The distribution works distribute water to consumers in adequate volume and at adequate
pressure.
Collection works are done using intake structures:
Intake Structure
The basic function of the intake structure is to help in safely withdrawing water from the source
over predetermined pool levels and then to discharge this water into the withdrawal conduit
(normally called intake conduit), through which it flows up to water treatment plant.
Factors Governing Location of Intake
1. As far as possible, the site should be near the treatment plant so that the cost of conveying water to
the city is less.
2. The intake must be located in the purer zone of the source to draw best quality water from the
source, thereby reducing load on the treatment plant.
3. The intake must never be located at the downstream or in the vicinity of the point of disposal of
wastewater.
4. The site should be such as to permit greater withdrawal of water, if required at a future date.
5. The intake must be located at a place from where it can draw water even during the driest period of
the year.
6. The intake site should remain easily accessible during floods and should not get flooded. Moreover,
the flood waters should not be concentrated in the vicinity of the intake.
Design Considerations
1. Sufficient factor of safety against external forces such as heavy currents, floating
materials, submerged bodies, ice pressure, etc.
2. Should have sufficient self weight so that it does not float by upthrust of water.
Types of Intake
Depending on the source of water, the intake works are classified as follows:

Pumping
A pump is a device which converts mechanical energy into hydraulic energy. It lifts water from a
lower to a higher level and delivers it at high pressure. Pumps are employed in water supply
projects at various stages for following purposes:
1. To lift raw water from wells.
2. To deliver treated water to the consumer at desired pressure.
3. To supply pressured water for fire hydrants.
4. To boost up pressure in water mains.
5. To fill elevated overhead water tanks.
6. To back-wash filters.
7. To pump chemical solutions, needed for water treatment.
Types of distribution systems
With respect to the way the water is supplied into the network, the following distribution can be
distinguished:
a) Gravity
b) Pumped
c) Combined
Choice for one of the above alternatives is very much linked to the existing topographic conditions.

Gravity systems make use of existing topography. The source is in this case located at higher
elevations than the distribution area itself. The distribution of potable water can take place without
pumping and nevertheless under acceptable pressure.

Pumped systems operate without or with limited water storage (water towers) in the distribution
system. As the pumping regime has to follow variations in water demand, proper selection of units
has to be done in order to optimize the energy consumption. Reserve pumping capacity for irregular
situations should also be planned.

Combined distribution systems operate with reservoirs and pumping stations. A considerable storage
volume is needed in this case: for balancing the demand variations, and as a buffer used in irregular
situations. Such systems usually supply consumers from more than one point.
They are common for large distribution areas.

Cold and hot water may be conveyed to plumbing fixtures under the pressure of a water source, such as a public
water main, by pumps, or by gravity flow from elevated storage tanks.

Gravitational distribution: the water from upland gathering grounds is impounded in a

reservoir. From this point the water is filtered and chlorinated before serving an inhabited
area at lower level. There are no pumping costs.

Pumped distribution: water extracted from a river is pumped into a settlement tank,
subsequently filtered and chlorinated. Pump maintenance and running costs make this process
more expensive than gravity systems.
Ring main distribution : water mains supplying a town or village may be in the form of a
grid. This is preferable to radial distribution as sections can be isolated with minimal
disruption to the remaining system and there is no more opportunity for water to maintain a
flow.

Valves Used for Water

Valves are used to regulate or stop the water flow in pipes either manually or by means of
automatic control systems. Valves used in automatic control systems are called control
valves. In this section, only manually operated valves, or simply valves, are discussed.

Hand-operated valves are used to stop or isolate flow, to regulate flow, to prevent reverse
flow, and to regulate water pressure. The basic construction of a valve consists of the
following (see Fig. 7.6): a disk to open or close the water flow; a valve body to seat the disk
and provide the flow passage; a stem to lift or rotate the disk, with a handwheel or a handle
and corresponding mechanism to make the task easier; and a bonnet to enclose the valve from
the top. Based on the shape of the valve disk, the valve body, or its function, commonly used
valves can be classified into the following types:

The globe-type stop valve is used to control the flow of water at high pressure. To close the
flow of water the crutch head handle is rotated slowly in a clockwise direction gradually
reducing the flow, thus preventing sudden impact and the possibility of vibration and water
hammer.

The gate or sluice valve is used to control the flow of water on low pressure installations. The
wheel head is rotated clockwise to control the flow of water, but this valve will offer far less
resistance to flow than a globe valve. With use the metallic gate will wear and on high
pressure installations would vibrate.

The drain valve has several applications and is found at the lowest point in pipe systems,
boilers and storage vessels.
Joints on Water Pipes

Pipe Materials
Pipes and tubing for water distribution may be made of copper, brass, polyvinyl chloride
(PVC), polybutylene, ductile iron, or galvanized steel, if they are approved by the local code.
When materials for potable-water piping are being selected, care should be taken to ensure
that there is no possibility of chemical action or any other action that might cause a toxic
condition.
Fittings
These are used to change the direction of water flow (because it usually is not practical to bend pipe in the
field), to make connections between pipes, and to plug openings in pipes or close off the terminal of a pipe. In a
water-supply system, fittings and joints must be capable of containing pressurized water flow. Fittings
should be of comparable pressure rating and of quality equal to that of the pipes to which they are connected.
Fitting sizes indicate the diameters of the pipes to which they connect. For threaded fittings, the location of the
thread should be specified: A thread on the outside of a pipe is called a male thread, whereas an internal thread
is known as a female thread.
Ductile-iron pipe is generally available with push-on mechanical joint or flanged fittings. Brass or bronze
fittings for copper or brass pipe also may be flanged or threaded. Flanges are held together with bolts. In some
cases, to make connections watertight, a gasket may be placed between flanges, whereas in other cases, the
flanges may be machine-faced. Threaded fittings often are made watertight by coating the threads with an
approved pipe compound or by wrapping the threads with teflon tape before the fittings are screwed onto the
pipe.

Water mains

Systems of Cold Water Supply

Domestic Water Softener

Characteristics of hard water are:

. difficult to create a lather with normal soap
. scum and tide marks in baths and basins
. chalk staining or streaking on washed glassware.

Cold Water Storage Cisterns

HOT WATER SUPPLY

SYSTEMS
water heaters
methods of heating buildings
HEATING SYSTEMS
Heat Emitters

PLUMBING FIXTURES AND EQUIPMENT

Introduction to Plumbing
The plumbing and sanitary system is an essential part of every house or
building.

A plumber’s job role consists of installation, repair, maintenance and

servicing of plumbing fittings and fixtures.

Role of Plumbing
As you may be aware, water is supplied to a house or a building from
storage tanks through pipes. Similarly, the waste water from kitchen and
washrooms is drained out with the help of pipes. Any building, be it a
residential, commercial or industrial, cannot function properly
without having plumbing and sanitary arrangements in place. It is,
therefore, important to have regular and adequate water supply and a
proper system for the disposal of waste water.

Plumbing and pipe-fittings play

a major role in the construction of
all types of buildings. An effcient
plumbing work keeps the atmosphere
free from bad smell and ensures better
sanitation.

Plumbing cycle
Plumbing cycle refers to a mechanism through which water is taken from a
source, then supplied to the users, and finally waste water is collected and
recycled to the source after proper treatment
Plumbing
The skill and art that is needed to transport water from the source to the
users, then to the treatment plants, and finally supplying the treated water
to the users through a distribution system is known as plumbing.

It is a system of pipes and fittings that carry water.

Sanitary Work
Sanitary work refers to carrying the waste water to the waste disposal
system (sewerage system) through plumbing fixtures.
A plumbing system consists of pipe fittings and appliances used for water
supply and drainage, as you see the fitting for the washbasin in Fig. 1.2. In
this system, different pipes are used for different purposes.
The plumbing system includes:
• water supply, galvanized iron (or plastic) pipes
and fixtures;
• soil pipes and fixtures;
• sanitary drainage system; and
• rainwater drainage system.