Water pressure

[mjoekingz28]

What is it about city water lines that have you boil water if they lose pressure?

Can bacteria somehow manifest itself when the water is atmospheric?

I dont understand

 

[simple_gifts]

I worked at a place that had to install an anti-drainback valve in the fire surpression system. Seems when there was a loss of pressure all the rusty water charged in the sprinklers would drain back into the public water supply. A new regulation (you know the ones everyone hates) required them to prevent stagnant old water from going back into the public water supply.

Perhaps something along those lines....

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
What is it about city water lines that have you boil water if they lose pressure?

Can bacteria somehow manifest itself when the water is atmospheric?

I dont understand


If the pressure drops below the local groundwater pressure, all of the pipe leaks (typically 10% in municipal pipelines) that leak out leak back in, with dirty water.

Opening a pipe in a flooded pit lets dirty water in.

Recharging pipe can stir up sediment that harbours bugs.

 

[Plumber]

...or it is possible that toxins may be sucked in from a private system that does not have any back flow protection, like a car wash.

 

[Plumber]

oops

 

[Ducked]

City groundwater is sometimes contaminated by long-term leakage of sewage. Positive water supply pressure stops the sewage leaking in to the water supply system.

 

[JHZR2]

Have you ever shut off the water and dumped pressure on the lines in your home? Often a bit of darker water as the sediments come off the walls.

Now imagine a huge municipal line, of iron (there can be iron associated bacteria too) with questionable couplings and leak/entry/repair points, and what do you think?

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
What is it about city water lines that have you boil water if they lose pressure?

Because they've potentially lost their exclusion of contaminants.

Water pipes are underground. There can be considerable external pressure from groundwater pressing against the pipes. Groundwater hasn't been sanitized or otherwise cleaned; it has whatever it has in it, from dog poo to road salt to who knows what.

All water- and sewer-pipes end up leaking somewhere eventually, even with modern sealing methods. Pressure INSIDE the pipes keeps pressure OUTSIDE the pipes from pushing groundwater INTO the pipes. It's the exact-same principle as that at work in the positive atmospheric-pressure found in hospital operating-rooms or the negative atmospheric-pressure found in hospital isolation-rooms.

 

[Olas]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
What is it about city water lines that have youboil water if they lose pressure?


If you boil water when lines break, tell us why you do it;
What are the thouts and feelings you have when a pipe breaks?
What might happen if you don't boil water when the pipe breaks?
When did you start doing this, and what was going on at that time?

 

[mjoekingz28]

I am sorry to hear of your Canadian and Taiwan "dirty" water. Please do not speak of it in this thread. It is worse than going RSP in here. My water is supplied via Sparta Sands Aquifer, not a dump as you two foreigners put it.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
I am sorry to hear of your Canadian and Taiwan "dirty" water. Please do not speak of it in this thread. It is worse than going RSP in here. My water is supplied via Sparta Sands Aquifer, not a dump as you two foreigners put it.


????

They were answering your question, about contaminated groundwater getting into the pipes from outside...

 

[Jetronic]

unpressurised means open to atmosphere *somewhere*. atmosphere meaning surroundings. Water pipes are in the ground not far from sewage pipes.

Anything could get in when the water isn't pressurised. Don't drink or use for cooking for a while after this happens.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
My water is supplied via Sparta Sands Aquifer, not a dump as you two foreigners put it.

You had better go back and re-read the two replies you're apparently responding to.

Neither of those replies had anything at all to do with the source of your water.