Water Supply

Distribution System
Methods of distribution, layout of distribution system,
methods of analysis, pressure in the distribution
system, distribution reservoirs, functions and its types,
storage capacity of distribution reservoir.
Components of a water supply system
• The water source (Dam, Well, River, etc…)
• Transmission system
• Treatment plant
• Distribution network
• Distribution system is a network of pipelines
that distribute water to the consumers.
• They are designed to adequately satisfy the
water requirement for a combination of
o Domestic
o Commercial
o Industrial
o Fire fighting purposes.
• The purpose of the distribution system is to
convey wholesome water to the consumer at
adequate residual pressure in sufficient
quantity at convenient points.
• Water distribution usually accounts for 40 to
70% of the capital cost of the water supply
project. As such proper design and layout of
the system is of great importance.
• Metering is recommended for all cities.
• In the continuous system of supply, water is made to
consumer all the twenty-four hours a day, whereas in
the intermittent system, the consumer gets supply only
for certain fixed hours(a few hours in the morning and
a few hours in the evening).
• The intermittent supplies system suffers from several
disadvantages and does not promote hygiene and
hence wherever possible, intermittent supply should
be discouraged and is uneconomical.
• To ensures equalization of supply of water
throughout the area Zoning in the distribution
system is essential. The zoning depends upon
(a) density of population
(b) type of locality
(c) topography and
(d) facility of isolating for assessment of waste
and leak detection.
• If there is an average elevation difference of 15 to
25m between zones, then each zone should be
served by separate system.
• The neighboring zones may be interconnected to
provide emergency supplies. The valves between
the zones, however, should normally be kept
closed and should not the partially opened.
• The layout should be such that the difference in
pressure between different areas of the same
zone or same system does not exceed 3 to 5m.
 Methods of Distribution
• Water could be conveyed
– by gravity or
– by pumping, or
– by gravity-cum pumping.
• Any of these three modes could be selected
based mainly on the elevation of the source of
supply with respect of the town.
• Another method is:
– Continuous system of supply or method
– Intermittent system of supply or method
 Requirements of a good distribution
system
A good distribution system should satisfy the followings:
o Adequate water pressure at the consumer's taps for a
specific rate of flow (i.e, pressures should be great
enough to adequately meet consumer needs).
o Pressures should be great enough to adequately meet
fire fighting needs.
o At the same time, pressures should not be excessive
because development of the pressure head brings
important cost consideration and as pressure increases
leakages increases too.
• Note: In tower buildings, it is often necessary to provide
booster pumps to elevate the water to upper floors.
 Requirements....

o Purity of distributed water should be maintained. This requires

distribution system to be completely water-tight.
o Maintenance of the distribution system should be easy and
economical.
o Water should remain available during breakdown periods of
pipeline. System of distribution should not such that if one pipe
bursts, it puts a large area without water. If a particular pipe length
is under repair and has been shut down, the water to the
population living in the down-stream side of this pipeline should be
available from other pipeline.
o During repairs, it should not cause any obstruction to traffic. In
other words, the pipelines should not be laid under highways,
carriage ways but below foot paths.
 Service Reservoirs
• The service reservoirs provide a suitable reserve of
treated water with minimum interruptions of supply
due to failure of mains, pumps etc.
• They also enable meeting the widely fluctuating
demands when the supply is by intermittent pumping.
• They are also helpful in reducing the size of the mains
which would otherwise be necessary to meet the peak
rates of demand.
• They can serve as an alternative to partial duplication
of an existing main as the load on the main increased.
• The capacity of the service reservoir to be
provided depends upon the better economic
alternative amongst various options.
• A system supplied by pumps with 100% standby
will have less storage capacity than that with less
standby provision.
• Similarly a system divided into interconnected
zones will require less storage capacity for all the
zones except for the zones at higher elevations.
• The minimum service or balancing capacity depends on
the hours and rate of pumping in a day, the probable
variation of demand or consumption over a day.
• The estimation of demand in a day for a town is
determined based on household survey.
• The capacity of service reservoir is fixed on the basis of
hours of pumping and the peak rate of supply .
• The peak rate of supply is usually taken to be twice the
average rate and the capacity of service reservoir is
fixed at 8 hours or one third of days supply.
• The ground level reservoir is generally preferred as
storage reservoir which is circular or square or
rectangular in shape.
• The economical water depth for reservoirs with flat
bottom upto 1000m3 capacity is between 3 and 5.5m.
• The reservoirs should be covered to avoid
contamination and prevent algal ladders, suitable
provisions should be made for manholes, mosquito-
proof ventilation, access ladders, and overflow
arrangements, water level indicator, and if found
necessary, lighting arresters.
 Service Reservoir
• The following particulars are to be collected:
i. Operational records to study storage requirements.
ii. Highest elevation in the area of town are to be identified
for locating the Service Reservoirs.
iii. Spot levels at site proposed for the Service Reservoir.
iv. Contours of the town for dividing the area into numbers of
zones.
v. Foundation details.
vi. Trial pit particulars to assess the safe bearing capacity of
soil at the site.
vii. Maximum and minimum ground water levels.
 Location of Service Reservoirs
• The location of service reservoirs is important for regulation of
pressures in the distribution system as well as for coping up with
fluctuating demands.
• In a distribution system fed by a single reservoir, the ideal location is
a central place in the distribution system, which effects maximum
economy on pipe sizes,
• Where the system is fed by direct pumping as well as through
reservoirs, the location of the reservoirs may be at the tail end of
the system.
• If topography permits, ground level reservoirs may be located
taking full advantage of differences in elevation.
• Even when the system is fed by a central reservoir, it may be
desirable to have tail end reservoirs for the more distant districts.
These tail end reservoirs may be fed by direct supply during lean
hours or booster facilities may be provided.
 Balancing Reservoirs
• The tank is said to be “floating on the line” when
connected by a single pipe to source and the
distribution system.
• When the rate of supply exceeds the demand,
water flows into the tank.
• When demand exceeds supply, water flows
through the same pipe from the tank.
• The relation between rate of supply, rate of
demand and tank capacity is based on a study the
service required as in case of service reservoirs.
• When the balancing tank floating on the line is
designed for the full service storage based on a study
of the hydrograph of demand, its location and altitude
is governed by the same conditions as are applicable to
the service reservoir.
• Where the distribution system designed for direct
pumping into the system it is advantageous to provide
a balancing tank at the end of the system with a
nominal capacity ( 1 or 2 hours) to provide pressure
relief and improve the tail end distribution.
• The balancing reservoir has the advantage of minimum
of pipe work and operational maintenance.
 Distribution System
• The following particulars are to be collected.
i. Town map in the scale of 1:200 showing all streets with names.
ii. Number of houses in each street, prospects of further development,
nature of houses, number of floors and height.
iii. Kinds of roads. Such as concrete, BT, WBM roads
iv. Town planning proposals. if any, with proposed approved layout.
v. L.S. streets at 30m intervals.
vi. Trail pit particulars at 500m intervals along the proposed
alignments
vii. A plan showing the existing distribution lines, if available with year
of installation.
viii The number of existing public fountains and existing house service
connection.
• Distribution system should be designed economically since it
involves more than half the cost of water works.
• Distribution system should not be designed for residual pressure
more than 22m.
• Distribution by direct pumping is to be avoided.
• Fire hydrants should be located at required points in the
distribution system in consultation with the agency in charge of fire
service.
• Special care should be taken to have an adequate horizontal and
vertical separation between water mains and sewer lines.
• The lateral separation should be a minimum of 0.3m while the
bottom of the water main should be atleast 0.5 m above the top of
the sewer line.
• A water main should neither pass through nor come in contact with
any part of a manhole.
 General Design Guidelines for
Distribution System
1.Peak Factor:
• The per capita rate of water supply indicates only the
average consumption of water per day per person over a
period of one year.
• In the design of water supply distribution system, it is to be
recognized that consumption varies with the season,
month, day and hour.
• As far as the design of distribution system is concerned, it is
the hourly variation in consumption that matters.
• The fluctuation in consumptions accounted for, by
considering the peak rate of consumption ( which is equal
to average rate multiplied by a peak factor) as rate of flow
in the design of distribution system.
 Peak Factor
• The following peak factors are recommended
for various population figures:
• For population less than 50,000 - 3.0
• For a population range of 50,000 to 2,00,000 -
2.25
• For population above 2,00,000 - 2.0
• For Small Water Supply Schemes (Where
supply is effected through standposts for only
6 hours) - 3.0
 Residual Pressure
• Distribution system should be designed for the
following minimum residual pressures at ferule
points:
– Single storey building = 7m
– Two storey building = 12m
– Three storey building = 17m
• Distribution system should not ordinarily be
designed for residual pressures exceeding 22
meters.
• Multistoried buildings needing higher pressure
should be provided with boosters.
 Minimum Pipe Sizes
• Minimum pipe sizes of 100mm for towns
having population upto 50,000 and 150mm
for those above 50,000 are recommended.
• For dead ends, less than 100mm can be
considered.
• If it is a grid, less than 100mm can be used in
situations where no further expansions
contemplated.
 Elevation of Reservoir
• The elevation of the service reservoir should be
such as to maintain the minimum residual
pressure in the distribution system consistent
with its cost effectiveness.
• The hydraulic gradient in the pipe should
normally be between 1 and 4 per thousand at
peak flow.
• A suitable combination of pipe sizes and staging
height has to be determined optimization of the
system. The staging height of service reservoirs is
normally kept as 15-20m.
 Boosting
• For distant localities, boosters may be
provided instead of increasing the size of
mains or height of the reservoir unduly for
maintaining the required pressure.
 House Service Connections
• The supply from the street main to the individual
buildings is made through a house service
connection.
• This consists of two parts viz., the communication
pipe which runs from the street main to the
boundary of the premises and the service pipe
which runs inside premises.
• The communication pipe is usually laid and
maintained by the local authority at cost of the
owner of the premises while the service pipe is
usually laid by the consumer at his cost.
• The water supply in a building may be through one of the following or
combinations both depending upon the intensity of pressure obtained in
the street main and the hours supply.
a. Direct supply system, and
b. Down take supply by time with or without sump and pump

• Under Down take supply system, the supply may be delivered directly to
the overhead storage tank or to the ground level storage tank. Separate
tanks should be provided for flushing and other purposes.
• The capacity of the overhead and ground level storage tanks are decided
by the local bye-laws.
• Generally a capacity of 50% of the daily requirement is provided in the
level storage tank.
• For overhead tanks directly receiving water from public mains, the
capacity should take care the total daily requirement, which could be
reduced to 75% if supply is pumped from the ground level tank.
• The pumps shall be designed for peak rate at 3
times the average over 24 hours; or average rate
of the 50% of the daily requirement over the
actual hours of supply, whichever is cater.
• A standby pump set of equal capacity shall be
provided.
• The down – take system of water supply in high
rise buildings may be one or a combination of the
following systems viz., overhead storage system,
break pressure tank system and hydro-pneumatic
system.
 Clear Water sump
• If point of supply is near the filter plant, clear water reservoir may
be a service reservoir of 8 hours storage capacity, if gravity is
possible or of 30 minutes storage in case of continuous pumping.
• If pumping is intermittent, the capacity should be such that the
filtrate could be drawn during non-pumping hours from a
continuously worked filter.
• If point of supply is at a distance from the filter plant, capacity of
clear water reservoir may be for 30 minutes storage either for
gravity or for pumping if the transmission main carries average
discharge of 24 hours basis. Otherwise the capacity should be
increased to absorb the difference between the rate of inflow and
rate of draw down in the clear water reservoir.
• At Head works / Treatment works site, a storage capacity varying
from 2 to 12 hours is recommended depending on length and size
of main and nature and frequency of power failures.
 Layout Of Distribution System
• The distribution pipe system consists of mains, sub-
mains, branches, lateral and finally service
connections.
• Pipes except a service connection are usually made of
cast iron with some type of coating to avoid rusting,
whereas for service connections galvanised cast iron
pipes are used.
• In large cities, the area is divided into several zones and
each zone has separate distribution reservoir or tank.
In smaller towns, the distribution mains mostly start
from the treatment plant and distribute water through
different branches and laterals.
• Distribution pipes are laid on one side of the
road, but in thickly populated areas along with
wider roads, a subsidiary lateral is given on the
other side of the road and the lateral are cross-
connected to the main at suitable intervals.
• Since distribution pipes are mostly laid along the
road, below the footpath, their layout commonly
follow the layouts of the road.
• It’s depending upon local conditions and
orientation of roads, any of the following patterns
of layouts is adopted singly or in combination.
• (a) Dead end or tree system.
(b) Grid system or reticular system.
(c) Ring or circular system.
(d) Radial system.
 Dead End or Tree System
• The system is also known as tree system because
as a tree has a trunk and branches and sub-
branches at different heights.
• The system has one main pipe from which a
number of sub-mains bifurcate and from each
sub-mains several branched pipes separate out
which are known as laterals.
• From lateral house connections are given to
different houses and other units as shown in
Figure .
Branching / Dead End / Tree Pattern
• Such type of distribution system is followed for old towns where
the houses come up in a much unplanned way and in such cases
one water main follows the main road and several water pipes are
extended as per requirement.
• Although the system is easy to design and is cheap and simple and
can be extended as per requirement, it has got some drawbacks
also.
• Water can reach at a particular point only through one route hence,
if some fault creeps in, water supply gets disturbed in that area
because water conveyance is uni-directional only.
• There are many dead ends which prevent free circulation of water.
At the same time stagnant water has to be removed periodically by
providing scour valves at dead ends, and these results in wastage of
treated water.
 Grid System or Reticular System
• In this system one main pipe runs through centre and branches and laterals run in
grid pattern which are inter-connected as shown in Figure .
• Since the mains, branches and laterals are inter-connected hence dead ends are
eliminated and water is in continuous circulation reaching at different locations
through more than one route.
• Following, pipe friction is minimized and size of pipe gets reduced and at the time
of repair in any section, an alternative route is available for supply.
• At the time of fire, water could be diverted to the affected area by closing cut off
valves of other areas.
• To regulate the supply, valves are provided at different locations as shown in the
figure. Since the pipe lines get water from various directions, design is a bit hard,
size of pies are larger and more number of sluice valves are required.
• The system is most suited for a planned city where road and streets are provided
in planned rectangular and square grid patterns. The system is also known as
interlaced system.
 Ring or Circular System
• The system consists of a main pipe all round the area.
The area to be served in rectangular, square or a
circular pattern. Figure shows a typical ring system in a
rectangular form.
• Sub-main and branches run mostly perpendicular to
main and water on all sides of the area goes to service
through pipes connected to the nearest main. Hence,
sufficient supply head is available.
• The system is same to grid system but has got more
advantage of having more service head because of
main running all around the area. This system is also
appropriate for a planned city or township.
 Radial System
• In this system, a very big area is divided in several zones and at the
centre of each zone a distribution reservoir is kept which is fed by
sub-main which takes water from main running across the area.
• From every distribution reservoir, branches or laterals radiate in all
direction as shown in Figure.
• Radiating pipes are connected to peripherals. Therefore, the system
works as a grid system without any dead end.
• Dividing the area into zones ensures the equalization of supply
throughout the field. A zoning depends upon population density,
type of locality and topography of the area.
• The method provides higher service head and efficient water
distribution. The system of radial distribution is display in Figure.
http://www.pacificwater.org/userfiles/image/Water%20Demand%20Management/watersupplysystem.gif