We've had a Compliance Officer visit from Scottish Water this week and he has left us with a long list of issues that he would like rectified. Most of them relate to the tiny possibility that water will get sucked up the hosepipe/trough inlet pipe and contaminated water will get into the mains water system. He wants all the taps changed around the yard so that you can't attach a hosepipe to them, a water trough which is currently a metal bath changed to a 'proper' water trough and a none-return valve positioned next to the water meter. Can anyone advise me if a none-return valve is fitted next to the meter which supplies all the water to the farm why all the taps have to be changed as surely the valve next to the meter will stop any dirty water in the extremely unlikely event of the water going in the wrong direction up the hosepipe! Also, why is it the down to the farmer to put the none-return valve in next to the water meter and not Scottish Waters? TIA
Scottish Water Compliance
- Thread starter Bungee123
- Start date
No idea why anything more than non return valve after the meter is required.
With my taps he just wanted them all to have non return valves in them. No mention of not connecting hoses to them.
Water would have to travel 50m uphill over a distance of 700m to get to their meter!
Is it still just photographic evidence of improvements they require? If so photo of tap with no hose attached
With my taps he just wanted them all to have non return valves in them. No mention of not connecting hoses to them.
Water would have to travel 50m uphill over a distance of 700m to get to their meter!
Is it still just photographic evidence of improvements they require? If so photo of tap with no hose attached
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He was a total jobsworth! Apparently you can have a hosepipe and no valve attached to a domestic house and that isn't a problem! He was the sort to do a spot check when he's passingNo idea why anything more than non return valve after the meter is required.
With my taps he just wanted them all to have non return valves in them. No mention of not connecting hoses to them.
Is it still just photographic evidence of improvements they require? If so photo of tap with no hose attached
Frodo
Member
- Location
- Scotland (east)
I think the theory is you could poison yourself.
be aware he did make a few return visits to me. I thought I was a fairly low risk, with most of things installed by a professional plumber.
left me thinking a borehole might be a good idea
be aware he did make a few return visits to me. I thought I was a fairly low risk, with most of things installed by a professional plumber.
left me thinking a borehole might be a good idea
Kwak Rider
Member
Scottish Water's responsibility will be up to (and including) the meter. Anything after the meter outlet will be your responsibility. What's is your incoming mains diameter? No idea why he wants the taps changed as well, I know they are trying to get away from taps with the internal check valves as the plastic breaks when frozen.
I could understand it if water going up a hosepipe was a regular occurence but surely if the tap is turned off it couldn't happen (correct me if I'm wrong!)
- Location
- North of Perth
We had this a few years ago.didn't have any taps at the time.had to change 2 water troughs.
Kwak Rider
Member
Yes, if the taps closed then it can't return. I'm led to believe the overreaction is that a homeowner was topping up his pond and the end of the hose was in the pond, the Firebrigade arrived to a call and opened up a hydrant and syphoned the guys pond into the mains.......chance in a million but we all have to pay for it!
My god, we're going to have to fill a form in to leave the house soon!!
dunkie
Member
- Location
- West Lothian
Had our first Scottish Water inspection about 8 years ago, had a non return, one way valve on the main after the meter, most of the taps had anti syphon valves, made no difference, cut the threaded part off every tap and they were happy, ideally they want taps supplied from a header tank with the overflow below the fill point.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
Tell him to fork off
- Location
- Northumberland
Northumbrian Water employed a jobsworth to do this about 8 years ago.
Were about to put a borehole in so that shut him up.
Were about to put a borehole in so that shut him up.
Having to change the taps and troughs and create ‘air gaps’ was an expensive hoop to jump through. No more hoses attached to mains pressure.
Now we’re supposed to use “a low pressure header tank with an electric pump”. They even had us put in a full length overflow pipe in the fresh water tank that fills the sprayer to enforce the air gap between float valve and the water level. Apparently just drilling a 5 cm hole wouldn’t do, because “a bird might get in the hole and die, and if the fire brigade draw water from a hydrant it might contaminate the supply”…
…WTF?!
Now we’re supposed to use “a low pressure header tank with an electric pump”. They even had us put in a full length overflow pipe in the fresh water tank that fills the sprayer to enforce the air gap between float valve and the water level. Apparently just drilling a 5 cm hole wouldn’t do, because “a bird might get in the hole and die, and if the fire brigade draw water from a hydrant it might contaminate the supply”…
…WTF?!
The guy told me, a couple of years ago now, that a mechanical non return valve was not enough, because it could fail without anyone knowing. They want a clear air gap between mains water source and any troughs. Proper troughs always overflow before the water inlet is submerged.
We had an old bath made into a trough so had to Stihl saw a vee into the end of it so it would overflow. The problem they have with hoses is they can be left running into a trough and then back Syphon if there is a burst no like was pointed out above.
He was very happy cause most of our troughs are supplied from a large header tank and said this would be their ideal situation.
We had an old bath made into a trough so had to Stihl saw a vee into the end of it so it would overflow. The problem they have with hoses is they can be left running into a trough and then back Syphon if there is a burst no like was pointed out above.
He was very happy cause most of our troughs are supplied from a large header tank and said this would be their ideal situation.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Make them comply with every H&S requirement....to the extreme. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Full PPE and spray down with disinfectant for a starter. Don't want them visiting multiple farms then tramping all the bugs they've collected onto our land, do we?
Very good like it
- Location
- Northumberland
We have a domestic dish washer in our bottling room for the seperater discs.
Although there are hundreds of thousands in houses directly connected to the mains, because ours was in a commercial site it could not be.
Total rubbish
Fortunatly we had the drillers coming so that fixed him
Although there are hundreds of thousands in houses directly connected to the mains, because ours was in a commercial site it could not be.
Total rubbish
Fortunatly we had the drillers coming so that fixed him
