Systems Of Supply

Water is supplied to consumers in subsequent two ways:

(a)    Continuous supply.
(b)    Intermittent supply.

In continuous supply system water is made available to consumers twenty four hours a day whereas in intermittent system consumer get water supply at pre-determined hours of day. The rate of supply within the continuous system could be kept low and pressure might be also low. In such conditions wastage of water through leakage is less because of water being supplied at lower pressure. Lower supply rate requires comparatively lesser size of distribution pipes, making the system economical. In the intermittent supply, water is supplied mostly at peak hours or if the shortage of water is there then the whole distribution area is divided into different zones and water is supplied to the different zones at various fixed timings. In this system, commonly an overhead tank is given at top of each building and this tank gets filled up when there is supply and therefore residents get water continuously in their house even there is intermittent supply from the water works. Here, this system is followed within most of the water works. Although intermittent system seems to save water, but is discouraged because of following:

•    It does not cover fire risk in during non-supply hours. Therefore, there might be difficulty in finding sufficient water for fire fighting purpose during the hour of need.

•    It is not consumer friendly technique of water supply as it keeps them on their toes for collecting water as soon as supply is restored.

•    It may induce pollution through leaky joints.