New home. Looks like drinking water from storage tank?

[RRAway]

Just moved into a property and the plumbing layout doesn't seem to make sense to me. The property is a 4 storey town house built as part of a larger development around 12 years ago. At first glance, it looks like drinking water is fed from the cold water storage.

The mains feed enters the garage where the stop cock is. From here it travels directly to a 230L (open lid) cold water storage tank in the garage loft (2 stories up, as there is another room directly above garage). The output from the tank then runs back down to the garage to a (rather noisy) water pump which seems to be outputting at least 6 bar (there is a gauge but it goes off the scale at 6 bar) to a small pressure tank next to it. After this the pipe goes through what seems to be a pressure regulator set to 3 bar (which seems odd straight after the higher rated pump?) and then flows into the house.

Turning off the stop cock stops water in the kitchen tap. As does turning off the water from the storage tank, so I'm pretty confident that is where it is coming from. I thought this was against regulations, and given this is a newish build in a large development that would seem odd. Maybe I'm missing something here?

One further thing of note: there are 2 valves which can be turned to connect the mains directly to house (i.e. it skips the cold water tank, and pump). This would make it safe to drink, but then I don't understand why you would put the tank and pump there in the first place if that was the intention.

Does this sound safe or legal?

Edit: Including layout diagram:

Untitled

• RRAway
• 2 Jan 2014
• 1

 

[newbuildinstaller]

its too boost the incomming flow rate for your house as your mains will be poor.

The valves are a bypass incase the pump dies

kitchen sink usually comes off before though (maybe wrong though)

 

[RRAway]

The valve set bypasses the 230L storage tank AND the pump together, rather than just the pump.

My main concern is still why the drinking water is coming from this setup too. Surely drinking any water that has stagnated in an open tank is a terrible idea.

 

[RRAway]

Updated with diagram better detailing layout. As you can see, we can a) bypass the tank and pump to get mains fed water everywhere in the house, or b) have high pressure water everywhere but unsafe drinking water.

Unless I'm missing something here, this doesn't seem right.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Kitchen tap should be fed straight from the mains supply, to provide a safe drinking water supply. Any other cold taps can be fed from a stored supply, but should not be used for drinking water. I would be getting that altered to provide at least one tap supplies directly from the mains for drinking and cooking purposes!

 

[holty]

Turning off the stop cock stops water in the kitchen tap

p.s op look at this. not much different
http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/grundfos-home-booster-unit/

you just need a bylaw 30 kit or as there now called regulation 19.

 

[rjm2k]

Kitchen tap should be fed straight from the mains supply, to provide a safe drinking water supply. Any other cold taps can be fed from a stored supply, but should not be used for drinking water. I would be getting that altered to provide at least one tap supplies directly from the mains for drinking and cooking purposes!

Darent look in my tank but really, how many ppl actually know they should only drink water from the kitchen tap? I know it and still fill drinking glasses next to the bed from the ensuit!

 

[holty]

Darent look in my tank but really, how many ppl actually know they should only drink water from the kitchen tap? I know it and still fill drinking glasses next to the bed from the ensuit!

been a system for many of decades. booster sets are becoming more common due to peoples demands on having greater flowrates and having poor mains etc. what do you think people drink from, on high rise flats etc.

 

[holty]

OP. better still look up the installation info on this link. it will give you a good clue to your answer
http://uk.grundfos.com/products/find-product/home-booster.html#brochures

 

[sammy1990]

Drinking tap should be mains fed?

 

[holty]

Ok can we get something right here. Op has stated that when said stop tap is closed, the kitchen tap and tank feed are isolated. This would still give a whole house boost of water. Except the MAINS fed kitchen tap.

 

[RRAway]

Ok can we get something right here. Op has stated that when said stop tap is closed, the kitchen tap and tank feed are isolated. This would still give a whole house boost of water. Except the MAINS fed kitchen tap.

• 
  When the stop is closed AND the tank/pump bypassed there is no water in the house (kitchen, or otherwise).
  When the stop is closed, but the tank/pump is not bypassed there is water in the house in all rooms (presumably from the storage tank?). This includes the kitchen tap.
  When the stop is open, but the tank/pump is bypassed there is lower pressure water all over the house.

This is why I think there is no separate mains feed to the kitchen. This property however is part of a large named development of 30 or so houses, (the same design) and I would have thought they would have been made to regulations - which is why I am confused, and wondering if I'm missing something.

Hopefully there is another explanation or I'm going to need to get a plumber in (and that's surely going to involve running pipe from the garage under the garden and patio into the house to get a separate mains feed to the kitchen)

The cold water storage has a lid which is bent and doesn't fit, and is surrounded by mouse droppings. Pretty sure I don't want to drink that!

 

[neiltheplumber]

I would recommend that you get the tank cleaned every twelve months and disinfected with chlorine dioxide spray. Then I wouldn't worry about drinking it! I worked on old peoples homes and this was pretty common.