Design of the Water Distribution Network in Mountainous Area

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I am planning to construct a water distribution network from a productive well to the elevated storage tank and with gravity to distributing points.

Is there any model or techniques can help?

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15 Answers

  1. Hello Salim

    I see there is much good advice that has already been suggested.

    Getting water out of the ground is one thing, but moving it to peoples homes can be very challenging.

    Another complimentary technology you may want to consider adding in to the mix where appropriate is the Hippo Roller.

    We have been distributing this technology for the past 25 years to about 45 countries. It is an extremely simple design yet very appropriate for many rural communities. 

    It has been designed to be as maintenance-free as possible and has a typical lifespan of 5 to 7 years, often longer.

    Apart from assisting small-scale farmers to irrigate their crops more efficiently, perhaps the biggest benefit the Hippo Roller brings is time. Time to spend on other important tasks including attending school, growing food gardens and managing the home.

    We would be very happy to engage with you to explore this option further.

    Kind regards

    Grant

    1 Comment

  4. Dear  Salim Adam 

    Although the subject of water supply is well covered in many emergency manuals, there are additional factors which will affect the provision of fresh water for domestic supplies in conditions where the ambient temperature is close to or below 0°C. Chemical reactions are slower at low temperatures and biological processes also take more time. The physical properties of water, in the form of water, ice or snow, are temperature dependent, therefore affect processes involved in supplying water and the range of technology that can be used.

    First, in mountainous areas, water emerging from springs is likely to be quite cold already, having originated higher up the slope. This increases the likelihood of the water freezing during a cold spell. If outlets from a spring boxe do freeze up, the resulting back-pressure may cause subterranean water flow channels to alter their course, causing the spring to emerge at a different place! It is essential to guard against freeze-ups by covering spring boxes with an insulating layer of soil, of a depth equivalent to the depth of maximum winter frost penetration in the ground, so that water in the spring box is never cooled to below 0°C. A thickness of 0.75m to 1m of soil cover provides adequate insulation for most situations.

      Secondly, building spring boxes in scree is very likely to cause problems. In scree subterranean flows can alter course periodically, causing the spring to emerge at a different place. The spring protection then has to be moved to the new location where the water emerges from the ground, or new protection facilities built. Scree movements are also likely to damage spring boxes, necessitating continual maintenance. If it is impossible to avoid scree, use local materials, as it is very likely that the spring box will have to be replaced periodically.

    1. Locate pumps in a pump house to help prevent water freezing inside.
    2. Ice is likely to form on concrete aprons around boreholes and wells. Care should be taken to provide good drainage, and to encourage people not to splash water around if at all possible.

    Lift pumps

    These are distinguished from suction pumps by the location of the pumping cylinder, which is submerged below the water level in the borehole. Lift pumps are normally used when the dynamic water level is more than 7-8m below ground, making suction impossible. Lift pumps make sense in cold areas precisely because the working parts of the cylinder will always be underground, where they will be insulated from the cold. Above-ground pump parts can be protected by making a small diameter ‘weephole’ in the riser pipe just above the cylinder (either below groundwater level or above the water table at a depth where freezing will not occur). Water slowly drains out of the above-ground section when the pump is not being used, reducing the likelihood of water freezing in the aboveground pump sections. This causes a small loss in the pumping efficiency, although being below water level the cylinder needs no priming.

  5. Dear, Mr. Adam

    Yes; To made a distribution water from the water tank you need first to construct the pump station and with the needed power to fulfill the water tank and from the water tank to distribute for the inhabitants or for irrigation needs.

     

    Best regard.

    sabbytyqi@yahoo.com

  6. It depends very much on system purpose and size, available expertise for construction, expertise of the persons who will maintain it, future availability of materials, parts and external experts for maintenance. Many mountain countries also have design manuals for such systems,  government agencies or other actors might have them

  8. Your question asked about available models. There are several but one of the most widely-used is EPANet.  It is a public domain program available free for download including good documentation in user manuals, and it is the basis of many other commercial models but with better documentation than most.  You can enter the elements such as the well, pump(s), tank and any number of valves with control features (pressure reducing valves, check valves etc.),  and of course pipes and their properties, PRV's may be especially important between zones if very different elevations.

    If your elevated tank has an overflow, be sure to include an "emitter" element based on orifice properties, unless you want the model to assume there is an altitude valve that shuts off inflow when the tank reaches a designated level (instead of spilling out the overflow).

     

  9. You have to devide the area into some zone with level diffference about 20 meter, or as per the site topography.  Ezch zone can be  feeded from elevated tank. 

  11. For design of gravity main use the Darcy's modified formula  d^5=(FLQ^2)/3Hf where d = pipe inner dia in meters, F= frictional constant dimensionless, take its value at 0.01, L= length of pipe line in meters, Q= discharge in cubic meters/sec, Hf= Level difference i.e. available head in meters. We have practically got great success with this formula for gravity line design. Write for any clarification east5star@gmail.com

     

  12. I have done award-winning inventive work to design distribution system from storage point (tank) to distribution points by gravity lines. Using this system, you can distribute desired quantity (equal to all OR proportionate to the holding) to the accuracy of a drop at the desired point. You can further interact with me on my e-mail east5star@gmail.com

  13. Make sure all components are of potable quality.

    What is the use?

    Make sure the water in the tank is treated to the desired use and as suggested opaque tank with protection from vermin getting into the tank.

  14. Actually pretty simple system.  Two things to keep in mind:  1. Make sure that the storage tank is opaque. (don't want it growing algae) 2. Ensure that the piping used will handle the pressure.  .43 PSI per foot of elevation.

  15. if you want to maintain your water quality, i can send you our technical report on the 100% biodegradable biocide.