RESERVOIRS AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
To store water, a device or tank is used which is called reservoir. The storage may be public
storage (clear water reservoirs, service reservoir etc) and private storage (roof tank, underground
tanks in the homes, industries etc.)
The reservoirs are necessary for the following reasons
To provide a reserve against failure of main or intermittent systems of supply
To meet peak demand by reserving water in other timings(to balance the fluctuation in
the demand)
To reduce the pressure on the various appliances and installations
To economize the size of main pipe(reduce pressure then size of pipe)
To maintain uniform pressure in the distribution system
To meet the emergency demands such as fire fighting
To use lighter pipes in the distribution system
The supply of water to the consumer is accomplished through a well-planned pipe networks
including reservoir for storing treated water, stabilizing pressure, fire hydrants, pumps, valves,
service connections, water meters etc called distribution system.
Requirements of a good distribution system
A good distribution should have the following requirements
It should be capable to deliver treated water to consumers in adequate quantity at
required pressure
Water quality should not be degraded at time of supply in distribution lines i.e. should
maintain degree of purity
It should be efficient and easy to operate and maintain
It should be watertight with having minimum loss of water
It should be safe against bursting of pipe due to possible excess pressure
It should be capable to meet for emergencies like fire fighting
Distribution reservoirs
They are also called service reservoir connected to distribution system or water supply
project and stores the treated water for supplying water during emergencies(such as
during fire, repairs, a break in a main supply line, failure of pumping plant etc) and also
to help in absorbing the hourly fluctuations in the normal water demand.
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Functions of distribution reservoirs
To equalize and absorb the variation in hourly demand of water by the consumers to a
uniform rate of supply from the source either by gravity or pumping
To maintain the desired minimum residual pressure in the distribution system
Water stored can be supplied during emergencies
To provide the required contact time for the disinfectant added in order to achieve
disinfection and
To facilitate carrying out repairs either to the pumping main or to pump set without
interruption to the supply water.
Location and height of distribution reservoirs
Should be located as close as possible to the center of demand
Water level in the reservoir must be at sufficient elevation to permit gravity flow at an
adequate pressure
Types of distribution reservoirs
Underground reservoirs
Small ground level reservoirs
Large ground level reservoirs
Overhead tanks
Storage capacity of distribution reservoirs
The total storage of a capacity of a distribution reservoir is the summation of
Balancing storage: the quantity of water required to be stored in the reservoir for
equalizing or balancing fluctuating demand against constant supply is known as
the balancing storage(or equalizing or operating storage).The balance storage is
worked out by either mass balance or analytical method.
Breakdown Storage (emergency storage): The breakdown storage or often
called emergency storage is the storage preserved in order to tide over the
emergencies posed by the failure of pumps, electricity or any other mechanism
driving the pumps. Emergency storage can be taken as 20% -50 % of the
maximum daily demand
The third component of the total reservoir storage is the fire storage. Can be
determined using the relevant formulas
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Storage capacity of distribution reservoir
1. Balancing storage
The main and primary function of a distribution reservoir is to meet the fluctuating demand with
a constant rate of supply from the treatment plant.
The optimum quantity of water required to be stored for this variable demand to provide a
constant supply is known as the balancing reserve or balancing storage or equalizing storage of
storage capacity of a balancing reservoir
The balancing storage is found using:
1: Mass curve method
2. Analytical solution
For example
Determine the required size of a balancing tank to serve a population of 200000 people with
average daily demand of 100lpcd. The (% ) hourly demand is given in the table below.
Table 1: Water demand
Table 1a
Period
0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10-11 11-12 12-13
(hr)
%
hourly 15 15 15 20 25 40 80 120 180 220 220 150 100
demand
Table 1b
Period
13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20 20-21 21-22 22-23 23-24
(hr)
%
hourly 80 60 110 150 180 180 160 140 80 45 15
demand
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Solution
1. Mass curve method
A mass diagram is the plot of accumulated supply or demand versus time.
The mass curve of supply (supply line) is first of all drawn and is superimposed by
the demand curve. The demand curve data is obtained from past records( average of
hourly demand for all 24 hours) for typical day
Read the storage required as the sum of the two maximum ordinates between demand
and supply line
For the example above
Maximum daily demand lpcd =1.8*100*200000=36000000=36m-litres/day
=1.5m-lit/hr
Assume 1.5m-lit/hr is the water that is supplied per hour ( conditions for water
supply should be known)
The demand per hour is calculated from the percentages given.
The accumulated values of supply and demand are calculated as shown in table
below.
The graph is finally fitted and the maximum ordinates determined.
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Hourly flow
% of Hourly required Hourly flow
flow expected M.lit/hr(dema provided M- Cumulative cumulative
Time to be used) nd lit per hr demand supply
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 15 0.225 1.5 0.225 1.5
2 15 0.225 1.5 0.45 3
3 15 0.225 1.5 0.675 4.5
4 20 0.3 1.5 0.975 6
5 25 0.375 1.5 1.35 7.5
6 40 0.6 1.5 1.95 9
7 80 1.2 1.5 3.15 10.5
8 120 1.8 1.5 4.95 12
9 180 2.7 1.5 7.65 13.5
10 220 3.3 1.5 10.95 15
11 220 3.3 1.5 14.25 16.5
12 150 2.25 1.5 16.5 18
13 100 1.5 1.5 18 19.5
14 80 1.2 1.5 19.2 21
15 60 0.9 1.5 20.1 22.5
16 110 1.65 1.5 21.75 24
17 150 2.25 1.5 24 25.5
18 180 2.7 1.5 26.7 27
19 180 2.7 1.5 29.4 28.5
20 160 2.4 1.5 31.8 30
21 140 2.1 1.5 33.9 31.5
22 80 1.2 1.5 35.1 33
23 45 0.675 1.5 35.775 34.5
24 15 0.225 1.5 36 36
5
40
Demand and supply (Million litres)
35
30
25
20
Supply
15
Demand
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Time(hr)
Determine the largest ordinate when supply is greater than demand =7.35 at 7hrs and also
when the demand is greater than supply at 22hrs =2.4
Therefore total capacity of the tank will be 7.35+2.4 =9.75million litres
ii) Analytical method
In this method, the cumulative hourly demand and cumulative hourly supply are
tabulated for all 24 hours.
The hourly excess of demand as well as the hourly excess of supply(cumulative) are then
worked out
The summation of maximum of the excess of demand and the maximum of excess of
supply will give us the storage capacity as seen in the table below.
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% of Hourly flow Hourly flow Hourly flow
expected to be required provided cumulative cumulative excess excess
Time used) M.lit/hr M.lit per hr demand supply supply demand
0 0 0 0 0 0
1 15 0.225 1.5 0.225 1.5 1.275
2 15 0.225 1.5 0.45 3 2.55
3 15 0.225 1.5 0.675 4.5 3.825
4 20 0.3 1.5 0.975 6 5.025
5 25 0.375 1.5 1.35 7.5 6.15
6 40 0.6 1.5 1.95 9 7.05
7 80 1.2 1.5 3.15 10.5 7.35
8 120 1.8 1.5 4.95 12 7.05
9 180 2.7 1.5 7.65 13.5 5.85
10 220 3.3 1.5 10.95 15 4.05
11 220 3.3 1.5 14.25 16.5 2.25
12 150 2.25 1.5 16.5 18 1.5
13 100 1.5 1.5 18 19.5 1.5
14 80 1.2 1.5 19.2 21 1.8
15 60 0.9 1.5 20.1 22.5 2.4
16 110 1.65 1.5 21.75 24 2.25
17 150 2.25 1.5 24 25.5 1.5
18 180 2.7 1.5 26.7 27 0.3
19 180 2.7 1.5 29.4 28.5 0.9
20 160 2.4 1.5 31.8 30 1.8
21 140 2.1 1.5 33.9 31.5 2.4
22 80 1.2 1.5 35.1 33 2.1
23 45 0.675 1.5 35.775 34.5 1.275
24 15 0.225 1.5 36 36
Add the highest value of excess supply to the highest value of excess demand =7.35+2.4
=9.75mlitres
NB
The total storage of the distribution reservoir can be determined:-
Vtotal = V(balancing storage)+V(firestorage) +V emergency storage
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