Implementation Guidelines for Water Supply and Sanitary Pipelines

In building construction work water supply, sewerage and drainage works are equally important like other construction parts such as foundation, brick work, laying RCC slab etc. It is generally seen that a few house owner do not pay proper attention towards these works. The following are precautions while laying water supply and sanitary pipelines.

Precautions while Laying Water Supply Pipelines

1. Sewer line and water supply line should not come in contact to each other. They should have a separation of 3 meters in horizontal pipe line and 50 cm in vertical pipe line to avoid contamination of drinking water.
2. Where a pipe line crosses a wall or floor, it should be passed through MS tube sleeve to allow freedom for expansion and contraction. 
3. G I Pipe line should not be in touch with lime or lime mortar as the lime will affect the pipe.
4. Water tank must be provided with over flow pipe up to the rain water pipe. It should be 30 cm high from tile tracing for easy cleaning.
5. The pipe line in wall should have 1.5 cm cover for receiving plaster to avoid crack on the surface.
6. The pipe line should be laid down with minimum cushion of 2 feet under ‘berms’ (Pushta) and 4 feet under the roads.
7. All joints should properly be tight by using thread and ‘safeda’.
8. The pipe line should be tested either by smoke test or by maximum working pressure of pipes and joints should be absolutely water tight absolutely.
9. If gate valve is used frequently, the discharge will spoil soon. Globe valve is preferred (which is costlier than gate valve).
10. Unions should be provided with stop cocks.

Precautions while Laying Sanitary and Sewer Pipes

1. It is generally observed that top of the floor trap is not fixed by taking proper level of the floor of the building; which creates problems of drainage. The floor trap should be fixed after marking the levels of proposed floor in the building. 
2. The top of floor trap in toilet and kitchen should be 12 MM to 20 MM down from the floor level of the building to provide proper slope for easy drainage of water.
3. Where sewer lines cross the road or drain it should be passed through CI or RCC pipes.
4. The greater the depth of the seal is, the more effectively it will prevent foul air to come to the house from sewer.
5. Waste pipe should be connected to main sewer only through gully trap to avoid direct foul smell.
6. In sewer line the following minimum gradient /slope should be provided for self cleaning.
   • 100 mm dia pipe 1in 57
   • 150 MM dia pipe 1 in 100
   • 200 MM dia pipe 1 in 145
7. During execution the mouth of pipes should be covered with empty gunny bags to avoid blockage.
8. The joints should be filled with spun yarn, lead and ensure proper cocking to avoid any leakage.
9. To avoid damage to the floor, foundation, sewer line should be checked well before laying the floor.
10. Close the sewer line at one side by using gunny bags or cement mortar and fill in the pipe with water on the other side till the pipe is completely filled. Wait for 24 to 48 hours. If there might be any leakage, the water will come to the surface of the pipe or in the joints of the pipe.
11.  After checking the leakage top of the pipe line should be covered with cement concrete.
12. Stone ware glazed pipe should be of class A.

Precautions while Fixing Accessory 

1. Mosquitoes proof Jali should be fixed in flushing cistern and over flow pipe of tank.
2. All the pipes which are in open should be well painted to avoid from rusting.
3. Ball cock must be provided in water tank.
4. Care should be taken that all the fittings such as bib cock etc. are fitted tight but they should not spoil the surface of the fittings.
5. All sanitary fittings should be fitted with care without damaging any surface of sanitary ware or developing any crack. 
6. It is advisable that the fitting should be covered by papers or old cloths before starting painting. In case any splashes of the paint drops on fittings, these should be cleaned immediately.

Carelessness will be Expensive 
If water supply, sewerage and drainage are neglected either by using inferior material or by employing unskilled plumber, you may face following difficulties.

1. There may be leakage problems which can damage plaster, paint, and wood work.  
2. Appearance of the building looks very bad due dampness.
   3. The problems of foul smell may arise. 
3. House owner feels inconvenience due to blockage of water supply and sewer. 
4. Polluted water may spread on toilet floor etc. in case of blockage in sewer line. 
5. The life of the building is reduced due to leakage and dampness. 
6. The foundation may be damaged due to leakage.
7. The repair of leakage is very costly as it is done after breaking the plaster, brick work and flooring etc. 
8. It is difficult to detect the leakage in some cases as dampness appears on a large area.
9. The health of the persons may be affected due to the problems stated above.