Module – 5

Distribution of Water

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 Distribution system
 After treatment of water – pure water is to be distributed to the consumers –
to individual homes
 Water – carried along roads and streets from treatment plant
 Above function – achieved by well planned distribution system
 Distribution system
 pipes of varying sizes along the streets
 Valves for control of rate of flow,
 Hydrants for providing connections in case of fire,
 Meters for measuring the amount of water in each house, service
connections to houses,
 Service reservoirs to store water to be fed into the distribution system
 Pumps for lifting the water up to the service reservoirs
 Also water may be pumped continuously or intermittently depending on
type of distribution system planned
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 Requirements of a good distribution system

 It should be capable of supplying water to all intended places

 Capable of supplying the required amount of water for fire fighting
during such needs
 Should be cheap – least capital cost. Economy and cost of installing
important factor – usually about 70% of total cost
 Simple – easy to operate and repair – reducing operating cost
 Safe against any future pollution of water – should be above
sewerage lines
 Safe against bursting of pipelines
 Should be fairly water tight – reduce losses due to leakage

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 Arrangement of distribution pipes and
accessories
 Consists of supply mains, sub mains, branches and laterals
 Made of CI and have spigot and socket joints
 Usually laid sloping from higher to lower areas – maximum advantage
of available head
 Sluice valves – straight length of pipes to allow control of flow
direction of water – junctions and branching points
 Drain valves and air valves provided for repairs and removal of air from
the system
 Distribution pipes laid on one side of road and streets – below foot
paths – 2 m above and 3 m away from sewer lines
 Sizes of distribution pipe depend on amount of flow carried and
permissible loss of pressure head
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 Laying of pipes along the roads

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 Layouts of distribution Networks
 Distribution pipes are laid below road pavements – layouts
usually correspond to that of roads
 Usually there are 4 types of pipe networks – any one or its
combination can be used at a place – local conditions and
orientation of roads
 Systems are
(i) Dead end system
(ii) Grid iron system
(iii) Ring system
(iv) Radial system

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 Dead end system
 Also called tree system
 Have a single main supply pipe from which a number of sub main
pipes originates
 Each sub main is then divided into several branch pipes called
laterals
 From laterals, service connections originates
 Adopted for older towns – developed in hap hazard manner
without any proper road network
 This results in formation of dead ends – suitable for areas which
expand irregularly

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 Dead end or tree system

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 Advantages and Disadvantages
 Distribution network can be solved easily – possible to calculate
the discharge and pressure at a point precisely
 Lesser number of sluice valves required in the system
 Cheap and simple – expanded and extended easily
 But, if the main pipe is damaged any where, entire water supply
is disrupted as it works with a single main
 Numerous dead ends in the system – prevent free circulation of
water – stagnation results in decrease in quality;Result in wastage
of treated water
 Discharge is only in one direction – supplies during fire fighting
cannot be increased by diverting supplies from other side
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 Grid Iron system
 Also called interlaced or Reticulation system
 Mains, sub mains and branches are inter connected
 Used in a well planned city or a town where roads are developed
in a grid iron pattern
 Used in Chandigarh
Advantages
 Water reaches a point through different routes – discharge
through a pipe, friction losses and size of pipe reduced
 Small area affected in case of a repair as flow diverted
 Dead ends eliminated due to interconnections – no stagnation
of water and hence quality not affected
 During
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be diverted from other places
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Disadvantages
 More length of pipeline and sluice valves required
 Construction is costlier
 Design is difficult and costlier, calculations for finding out sizes
of pipes, discharges, pressure at key points is a tedious job
 Require service of experts for its design

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 Ring system
 Also called circular system
 A closed ring of circular or rectangular main pipes is formed
around the area to be served
 Distribution area is divided into number of recatngular or circular
blocks
 This system is suitable for towns and cities having well planned
roads
 Sometimes used as a looped feeder placed centrally around a high
demand area along a grid iron system
 This helps increase the capacity of grid iron system as well as
pressure created at various points
 Have the same properties as that of grid iron system
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Ring system

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 Radial system
 Suitable for a town having radial roads emerging from different
centers
 Pipes can be laid radially by placing distribution reservoirs at the
centre
 Water in taken from the mains and pumped into distribution
reservoirs placed at different places
 Water is supplied through radially laid pipes
 Method ensures high pressure and efficient water distribution
 Calculations for design is quite simple

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 Methods of distribution
 Main object of distribution system is to develop adequate water
pressure at consumer taps
 Considering the level of source of water and that of city,
topography of area, local conditions etc.
 Water supplied in Distribution system in 3 ways
(i) Gravitational system
(ii) Pumping system
(iii) Combined gravity and pumping system

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 Gravitational system
 Water from high level source is distributed to consumers at low
level using gravity – no pumping
 For proper functioning, difference in head between the source or
DR at treatment plant and localities – good enough after
considering for frictional and other losses
 Method is economical and reliable
 Need a lake or reservoir as source of supply with higher head
 Gravitational system is designed to leave only the minimum
permitted available head to consumers
 Rest is consumed by frictional and other losses
 Help keep leakages and wastages to minimum
 Require
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motor pumps in event of a fire outbreak
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 Pumping system
 Treated water – pumped directly to distribution mains with no
storing at all
 Also called pumping without storage system
 High lift pumps required in this system – operate at variable
speeds to meet requirement of consumers
 Continuous attendance needed at the pumping station to ensure
desired flow in the DS
 Complete stoppage of water supply in case of power failure
 Generally not used
 Only advantage is that more water can be pumped in during a fire
outbreak at high pressure to the required location
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 Combined gravity and pumping system
 Treated water is pumped at constant rate and stored in to a
elevated reservoir
 Water is then distributed to consumers by the mere action of
gravity
 Some times entire water is pumped into DR
 It is also pumped into the DR and distribution mains at the same
time
 Also called pumping with storage system
 Excess water during low demand period gets stored in the
reservoir and is supplied during high demand period
 Help operate the pumps at constant speeds at their rated
capacities – efficiency increased with low wear & tear
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 Advantages of combined system
 Balancing reserve of DR can be supplied to places of fire
 Necessary pressure could be achieved by closing down supply to
other areas
 Pumps work at uniform rate – operate at rated capacities
 Increase in efficiency and decrease in wear & tear of pumps
 Attendance and supervision required at pumping station is less
 Method is reliable even during power or pumping failure as some
amount of water available in DR
 System is overall cheap, efficient and reliable – adopted
everywhere

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 Distribution or service reservoirs
 Some of the main functions of DR or SRs are:
1) Absorb hourly variations in demand – allow WTP to operate at
constant rate reducing operating costs and increases efficiency
2) Help maintain constant pressure in distribution mains
3) Absence would result in fall in pressure to increase in demand and
the pumps not responding in time
4) Pumping of water in shifts is made possible without affecting
supply. So 8 – 16 hours of pumping done for day’s demand
5) Water stored in DR supplied during emergencies like break down
of pumps, heavy fire demands etc
6) Lead to overall economy by reducing size of pumps, pipe lines and
treatment units
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Types of distribution Reservoirs
 Usually made of RCC, steel or masonry
 Based on elevation with respect to ground, classified into
two:
a) Surface reservoirs
b) Elevated reservoirs

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 Surface reservoirs
 Usually circular or rectangular tanks – constructed at or below
ground level
 Also called ground reservoirs
 Generally constructed at high points of the city – if more than
one high point, more than one provided
 City will be divided into several zones in such case – separate
reservoir for each zone
 In gravitational type distribution system, water is stored in
ground reservoir – directly sent into the distribution mains
 In combined system of distribution, water is pumped into the
elevated service reservoir – supplied into main lines
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Ground reservoir

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 It is divided into two compartments – one kept in stand by when the
other is cleaned or repaired
 Two compartments are connected by shut off valves
 Over flow pipes are provided at full supply level so as to maintain
constant water level
 Ventilators provided in roof slab to allow free circulation of air
 Even though the stored water is treated, sludge may settle at bottom
and is to be removed from time to time – washout pipes
 Cement concrete floor slopes towards the central washout pipe

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 Elevated reservoirs
 They are rectangular, circular or elliptical overhead tanks
 Erected at suitable elevations above the ground and supported on
towers
 Constructed where pressure required necessitate considerable
elevation above ground level Constructed where combined system
of distribution is adopted
 Water is pumped from filter units or from surface reservoirs and
then supplied to consumers
 Tanks are made of RCC, steel or pre stressed concrete
 An Intz type RCC tank is of great popularity because it is
structurally sound and is economical when compared to steel
 Elevated reservoirs are usually costly and is not designed for more
than
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6 – 8 hours of average daily supply of the city
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 Mostly situated in the heart of the city
 Generally covered at top by roof slabs to prevent contamination of
water – birds, insects etc.
 Roofs are provided with ventilators for free movement of air
 Some of the other accessories are:
a) Inlet pipe – entry of water
b) Outlet pipe – distribution mains for exit of water
c) Overflow pipe – discharge to gutters – constant level
d) Float gauge/indicator – indicate depth of water from outside
e) Wash out or drain pipe for removing water after cleaning
f) Automatic devices to stop pumping when tank is full
g) Ladders to reach top and bottom of reservoir – inspection
h) Manholes to allow entry into the tank for inspection
i) Ventilator
33 – fresh air cirulation
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 Storage capacity of DRs
 Total storage capacity of distribution reservoir is summation of
following:
i) Balancing storage or equalizing or operating storage
ii) Breakdown storage
iii) Fire storage

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 Balancing storage

 Primary function of a DR is to meet varying demands with constant

rate of supply from a treatment plant
 Definition - Quantity of water required to be stored in a reservoir
for equalizing or balancing the variable demand against constant
supply
 Usually worked out using hydrographs of inflow and outflow using
mass curve method or analytical tubular solution

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 Break down storage

 It is also known as emergency storage

 Storage preserved in order to use in case of emergencies like
failure of pumps, electricity or driving mechanisms of pumps
 Amount of provision to be made for this factor is difficult to
assess
 Allowance provided dependent on frequency and extent of
failure and also on time required for repairs
 Mostly kept as 25% of total storage capacity of DR or 1.5 to 2
times the average hourly supply to the area
 If supply lines of equipments are expected to be out for longer
time, higher allowances are made
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 Fire storage
 It is the third component of total reservoir capacity
 Takes care of water required for extinguishing fire
 In cases of fire outbreaks, enough water is to be made available for
throwing water over fire
 Should be made available in case that electricity and pumps are
failed at water works
 Under normal conditions, 1 – 4 liters per person per day is stored
as fire storage depending on importance of the city

Total reservoir capacity is calculated as the total of all the

three components
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 Wastage of water in distribution system
 Considerable amount of water is wasted in the distribution system
 This may be due to leakage or through unauthorized water
connections
 Losses may account to 15% of total water consumption of an
area/city
 A faulty distribution system may account to about 40% of total
consumption
 Hence, some methods for detecting leakage in the distribution
system is to be utilized

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Leakage Detection in underground distribution
pipes
Following methods are utilized for leakage detection:
a) By direct observations
b) By using sound rods
c) By plotting hydraulic gradient line
d) By using waste detecting meters

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By direct observations
 It is basically observing wet spots on unpaved ground or overgrown
grass on a lawn or emergence of a spring at an odd place
 All such hints indicate possible leakage somewhere in the vicinity of
the area
 Such indications are available in areas having loamy or clayey soils
 In sandy soils, leak detection is difficult by direct observation
By using sound rods
 A sharp pointed metal rod is thrust into the ground along the pipe
line and pulled up for inspection
 If point is muddy or moist – preliminary indication of presence of
moisture
 Sound of escaping water can also be heard by placing ear on top of
inserted rod – confirm the leakage point
 Such notices magnified using and aqua phone or sonoscope
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By plotting the hydraulic gradient line
 Pressure at various points along a suspected pipe line are
measured – HGL is plotted
 Appearance of a kink or change in slope in HGL indicate the
location of leak in pipe line
By using water detection meters
 They measure the unusually high water passing through a water
main during period of low consumption
 It do not measure the amount of wasted water
 Unnatural excess flow would indicate the leakage of water
through the section of pipe
 In this method, a section is isolated and meter is placed at the
head of water main
 Water is allowed flow through after getting recorded in the
meter
 Progressively
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Environmental the locality are shut off
 Recorded flow through the meter would drop after each shut off
 Shut off indicating large and inappropriate drop in recorded flow
indicate that the pipe is leaking

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