Water Distribution Systems

The purpose of distribution system

is to deliver water to consumer with
appropriate quality, quantity and
pressure. Distribution system is used
to describe collectively the facilities
used to supply water from its source
to the point of usage.
 A Distribution System for the supply
of water includes
• Distribution or service reservoirs
• Pipelines – mains,submains,branches and
laterals
• Valves for controlling flow of water
• Hydrants for releasing water during fires
• Pumps
• Service connections for individual consumers
• Meters
 Requirements of Good Distribution
System
1.Water quality should not get
deteriorated in the distribution pipes.
2.It should be capable of supplying water
at all the intended places with sufficient
pressure head.
3.It should be capable of supplying the
requisite amount of water during fire
fighting.
4.The layout should be such that no
consumer would be without water
supply, during the repair of any section
of the system.
 Requirements of Good Distribution
System
5.All the distribution pipes should be
preferably laid one metre away or
above the sewer lines.
6.It should be fairly water-tight as to keep
losses due to leakage to the minimum.
7.Cheap with least capital construction
cost
8. Simple and easy to operate and
maintain
 Classification of Distribution System

• Gravity system
• Combined gravity and pumping system
• Pumping system
 Systems of supply of water
• Continuous system
• Intermittent system
 Layouts of Distribution Network
The distribution pipes are generally
laid below the road pavements, and as
such their layouts generally follow the
layouts of roads.
• There are, in general, four different types of
pipe networks; any one of which either singly
or in combinations, can be used for a
particular place. They are:
 Dead End System:
It is suitable for old towns and cities
having no definite pattern of roads.
• Advantages:
• Relatively cheap.
• Determination of discharges and pressure
easier due to less number of valves.
• Disadvantages
• Due to many dead ends, stagnation of water
occurs in pipes.
 Grid Iron System:
It is suitable for cities with rectangular
layout, where the water mains and
branches are laid in rectangles.
• Advantages:
• Water is kept in good circulation due to the
absence of dead ends.
• In the cases of a breakdown in some section,
water is available from some other direction.
• Disadvantages
• Exact calculation of sizes of pipes is not
possible due to provision of valves on all
branches.
 Ring System:
The supply main is laid all along the
peripheral roads and sub
mains branch out from the mains.

• Advantages:
• Water can be supplied to any point from at
least two directions.
 Radial System:
The area is divided into different
zones. The water is pumped into the
distribution reservoir kept in the
middle of each zone and the supply
pipes are laid radially ending towards
the periphery.
 Distribution Reservoirs

• Distribution reservoirs, also called service

reservoirs, are the storage reservoirs, which
store the treated water for supplying water
during emergencies (such as during fires,
repairs, etc.) and also to help in absorbing the
hourly fluctuations in the normal water
demand.
 Functions of Distribution
Reservoirs:

• to absorb the hourly variations in demand.

• to maintain constant pressure in the
distribution mains.
• water stored can be supplied during
emergencies.
 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 a
sufficient elevation to permit gravity flow at
an adequate pressure.
 Types of Reservoirs

• Underground reservoirs.
• Small ground level reservoirs.
• Large ground level reservoirs.
• Overhead tanks.
 Storage Capacity of Distribution
Reservoirs
The total storage capacity of a
distribution reservoir is the
summation of:
• Balancing Storage:
• Breakdown Storage:
• Fire Storage:
 Storage Capacity
• Storage Capacity of Distribution Reservoirs
• The total storage capacity of a distribution reservoir
is the summation of:
• 1. Balancing Storage: The quantity of water
required to be stored in the reservoir for equalising
or balancing fluctuating demand against constant
supply is known as the balancing storage (or
equalising or operating storage). The balance
storage can be worked out by mass curve method.
 Storage Capacity
• 2. Breakdown 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 othe mechanism driving the
pumps. A value of about 25% of the total storage
capacity of reservoirs, or 1.5 to 2 times of the
average hourly supply, may be considered as
enough provision for accounting this storage.
 Storage Capacity
• 3. Fire Storage: The third component of the
total reservoir storage is the fire storage. This
provision takes care of the requirements of
water for extinguishing fires. A provision of 1
to 4 L per person per day is sufficient to meet
the requirement.
• The total reservoir storage can finally be
worked out by adding all the three storages.
 How to determine Balancing
Storage?

period(hr Demand cumulativ Supply Cumula excess excess

s) in each hr e demand in each tive demand supply
hr supply
 Demand in cumulative Supply in each Cumulative excess
period(hrs) excess supply
each hr demand hr supply demand

1 2 2 4 4 -2 2

2 2 4 4 8 -4 4

3 2 6 4 12 -6 6

4 2 8 4 16 -8 8

5 2 10 4 20 -10 10

6 5 15 4 24 -9 9

7 5 20 4 28 -8 8

8 7 27 4 32 -5 5

9 7 34 4 36 -2 2

10 7 41 4 40 1 -1

11 7 48 4 44 4 -4

12 4 52 4 48 4 -4

13 3 55 4 52 3 -3

14 3 58 4 56 2 -2

15 2 60 4 60 0 0

16 2 62 4 64 -2 2

17 4 66 4 68 -2 2

18 4 70 4 72 -2 2

19 8 78 4 76 2 -2

20 6 84 4 80 4 -4

21 3 87 4 84 3 -3

22 3 90 4 88 2 -2

23 3 93 4 92 1 -1

24 3 96 4 96 0 0