Has anyone here ever had a problem with this?? Not for me, I have a well. But a good friend of mine lives in a city near me, with a municipal water system. He has very very low pressure. It's not just his house, everyone in his area is the same. They recently put in a new water storage tank that was supposed to help, but he said it made no difference at all.

He's thinking of installing a pump and water storage tank in his cellar, it would be the same setup that I use for well water. Is there any reason that this wouldn't work? I was talking with him about it today at a car show. Unless the city fathers have a problem with it, I dont see why he cant do it. Im just wondering if Im missing some plumbing issues here. The pump would just boost up the pressure of the incoming water, and the storage tank would of course hold it at that pressure. Can you have water enter the inlet of a pump when it's already under some pressure? Any plumbers in here?? Thanks, John (for Frank)

My guess is that he's either on top of a hill on high ground relative to the water-tower. The city pumps the water up into the water tower, and then gravity does the rest. The elevation of the water tower is what gives you the pressure, and if it's not much higher than the house, it doesn't matter how much capacity they have, the pressure will never get any better. In this case, the only fix is a taller water-tower, or, like you mentioned a pump at his end.

The other problem could be the water main on his street/neighborhood is undersized for the load. If he has good pressure at 3:00 a.m. but not at 6:00 p.m. that would be a good indicator that the main is too small or somehow restricted.

Either way, installing a pump and a storage tank is going to be his best bet.

If the plumbers on here don't give you an answer, I can ask one of the engineers at work tomorrow what would work best. I do HVAC/Plumbing design, but I'm the new guy. (still learning)

You are correct in that he will have a presure tank just like the one you have with a well and it will work the same way to pressurize his own water system.

Over in our old neighborhood, the County would flush the fire hydrants and one year they shut the suckers off too quick and popped water meter lines in front yards from the front of the place clean back an 0.8 of a mile to our place.

AND one year at my house, they blew a see-through OMNI water filter "can" AND a year before that a 1/2" copper 90 fitting going into it!!

I saw water running down the street and told one of my neighbors about it AND he raised h-ll and the County had to come out and fix his water line running to his house!!

I figured it was just a way to screw the neighborhood up b/c several years later THEY, (you DO know they, don't you??), sectioned-8'ed the whole place and property vaues tanked!!

NOT good at all.................

NOW a developer's son, (whoever?) is in the process of developing about a 1000 acres farther east by trying to make part of it a GOLF COURSE for UMC when they already have one!!

BUT they, (again, THEY) are breaking their backs getting the fix in to do this very large URBAN SPRAWL project!!

AND if that isn't enough, THEY again, THEY, blackmail developers by saying why we just want you to DONATE say 75 acres of your development for a PARK!! AND the SOB's NEVER have enough PARKS!!! OR trails or whatever...

BUT the TAXES keep going up!! THEN they get their park and spend who know's how much money making it PRETTY like by draining any ponds on it and re-engineering them!!

Funny thing b/c they just finished one for swimming and the dam geese crap in it and now it won't pass pure swimming water spec's!! He, He!!

But whatever, money only counts if you don't have any of it and since they can tax and whatever to get it from us taxpayers they will continue until we are broke!!

NOT happy at all.

pdq67

PS., and if you think the 1970 Clean Air Act AND again in 1990 the CAAA cost us a bunch of money, (say $1,300,000,000,000), and who knows how many jobs, just wait until they do the same thing with the water rules!! B/c it's coming!!