Systems of Water Supply to the Building

Systems of Water Supply to the Building

The types of cold water supply system to buildings depend on the local water authorities’ bye-laws. There are two (2) types of water supply systems, they are:

i. Direct system: The direct cold water system gets its name from the fact that all cold water taps are connected directly to the main service pipe. It is only suitable for the smallest installations in single dwellings. Its main advantage is that it is the simplest arrangement of pipe work and so it’s the most economical to install.

It also has the advantage that drinking water is available at all taps. However, it has some disadvantages and should not be installed where the main water supply suffers from low-pressure. And also there is a danger of foul water from the sanitary fittings being siphoned back into the mains.

ii. Indirect system: It is known as storage water supply system. The water is drilled and connected from the mains. It is first distributed to the kitchen and then a storage cistern through which other appliances can be distributed, that is the rising service pipe normally serves only one draw off point after others. The kitchen sink from which cold water is drawn, off points are supplied from storage cistern.

The advantage of indirect cold water system is water pressure on the taps supplies from the cistern is reduced which minimize wear on taps and noise. It also lower demand on the water mains (Townsend, 1989).