Connecting two water supplies

Kes

Joined
31 May 2006
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Worcestershire
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Our house has been supplied with 'mains' water from a spring for many years with no problems. The new next-door neighbours are running a trench to install water from the public supply, so we took the opportunity to go with them and share costs. So very shortly we will have a proper mains supply pipe alongside the spring water supply pipe.

I intend to use the spring water supply as usual with the public supply (which I have to pay for) in reserve. Does anyone have any suggestions how the two supplies could be plumbed so the supplies could be switched from one to another?

I can't find the appropriate regs on the internet, but I believe there has to be physical separation of the two supplies. I assume that a double check valve for backflow protection isn't accepted?
 
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Because..

future house buyers might be put off by drinking from a spring,
there are times when the spring runs very low, or occasionally stops,
the spring comes from fields not owned by us, and cannot be guaranteed,
it is prudent to lay the supply whilst the cost is shared (including the £1000+ for the water board to connect each one of us!) than the alternative (bore hole at £8 - £10k). To lay the pipe on our own (800 mtrs) would be tens of thousands.

I don't actually want to pay for water, I would much prefer to drink the spring water than the public supply (which I think is the overflow from the local swimming pool) and we intend to keep doing so. It's just reassuring to have a backup supply to flush the loos in extremis.
 
does the spring supply have a pump in /near your house - I would think the best solution would be to run the mains to a break tank with a isolating valve on the feed to the float valve . Then run the spring supply to the same tank ( cistern actually) and draw water from there . The air gap on the cistern float valve should satisfy the water co. regs . I presume you`re having a metered supply - and then using none so you will only have the standing charge to pay . If you have no meter it`ll cost a fortune on your house rates ;)
 
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Don't tell them you are retaining your Spring supply, say you're disconnecting it. When the Public Supply work is complete & been inspected, re-connect your Spring supply by teeing into the Public supply, a couple of valves & a double check valve should do it............Job done!!............ ;)
 
Yes, it will be metered. I'll pay the £50 standing charge and hopefully for a few cu mtrs a year more to flush the pipework than anything.

What's the difference between a verifiable and non-verifiable double check valve? If I buy a DCV is it likely to be verifiable or non-v? (The merchants possibly won't know.) Thanks.
 
Verifiable (and I’m open to correction – if I’m wrong) means there is a test point between the 2 check valves to check that the downstream check is working.
I think you’d be hard-pushed to find a non-verifiable DCV nowadays.
 

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