Effect of Residential Booster Pumps on Water Quality?

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I'm interested in doing research on the effect of residential booster pumps on water quality, especially in developing countries where there are no regulations for their use in urban areas.

I have read that most countries, especially in developed countries, have regulations on where and how these pumps should be installed.

How do booster pumps impact water quality in residential areas? 

How should the pump be installed for best results? 

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5 Answers

  1. Hi Michael, With regards booster pumping there are a number  of key considerations that you need to make if they are to be installed within the distribution system:-

    1. Define the purpose, what pressure increase you wish to make and assess the impact on the upstream and down stream distribution system.

    2. Ensure you always have a bypass so you can maintain the pump or for larger pumped areas a duty and standby

    3. Manage the rate of change of flow to avoid resuspension of any solid deposition especially when commissioning the system and recalibrating the pressure controls

    4.Ensure you have sufficient valves and washout to allow flushing of any 'dead legs ' on the pump manifold or bypass on a planned proactive basis

    5. Choose a pump that is approved for use with drinking water.

    In England, there have been a number of widespread discolouration incidents caused by maintenance of booster pumps. Check out the Drinking Water Inspectorates website www.dwi.gov.uk If you review the publications, their annual report on water quality has a section on incidents that have affected water quality and this  could provide some helpful information for you.

    Hope this is helpful. Message me if I can help further. Kind Regards Helen

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    1. Hellen,

      This very helpful and really appreciated. A quick one the information you provided is it in relation to residential pumps. Its the area am interested in for my research. The use of these pumps is widespread and unregulated.

  2. Our country have no such regulations to installed booster pumps, all installed by the public and no any studies  done yet about quality of water 

    When people go to the hospital they able to know about water born diseases but not there usable pumps. So it is essential to study such cases to booster our policies. If anyone interested to participate such works i will support as far as possible. 

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  3. There are two aspects of danger, one of them was explained very good from Mr. Currie. The other is that if the pump was not designed for potable water it can destroy the water Quality in two ways : operating materials like grease or oil can get into the water - second the water-wetted surfaces can emit chemical substances like dissolvers or heavy metals. In Germany such pumps have to pass a type approval test first.

  4. Pumping water with a centrifugal pump just implies imparting pressure by means of a impeller. The question then reduces to what is the effect of this on the water quality ?  In my view it is as good as asking what is the effect of rapid mixing ? Very little, if anything, if you deal with potable water.

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  5. Unregulated residential booster pumps can cause negative pressure in the residential distribution network.  This can cause leakage into the network of whatever water surrounds it.  In the worst cases this could draw in raw sewage or other hazardous waste.

    The reduction in local pressure can also mean that neighboring properties are forced to install booster pumps, leading to an arms race.

    I'm not an expert, but a type AB air gap (https://www.wras.co.uk/consumers/resources/glossary/type_ab/)  followed by a water tank from which the booster pump is fed should resolve pressure issues (as long as water is available) without detriment to the local network.

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