Changing from spring water to mains

[Michael_Brook]

Hi,

I live in an old cottage which is still fed off a spring. There's very little pressure in the system which comes in, then is pumped up to a tank in the loft and is gravity fed. A new house has been built on the end of the row so an opportunity to connect to mains water has come up.
Would doing so allow me to get rid of the pump and water tank and pressurise the system and, in theory, is as simple as bypassing the pump and water tank or will it be a much more involved job. Obviously it depends how it's configured and I'd need to get someone who knows what they're doing to do the work. The pump is on it's last legs and the spring isn't as clean and fun as it sounds plus having only half a bar pressure max after a lot of rain isn't ideal. Are there any other pitfalls or things I should be looking out for?

Thanks

 

[Lou]

That sounds like a lovely place to live!

Have you had any more thoughts about what to do?

 

[Frelon]

There are many people who would love to be independent of mains water, provided the supply is clean and plentiful.

We had a well in our garden in France which always contained about 4000 litres of water. The well was 7 metres deep and the level of the water was just 4 metres from the surface.

I installed a pump like this which provided 3 bar of pressure for my garden taps and washing the car.

Many of our neighbours used this type of pump to feed their house with water. The local pharmacies would test the water for you every six months for a small fee!

 

[Ric2013]

In theory it's a simple job and while there may be some snagging involved (e.g. the fill valve in your toilet system may need replacing or modifying to work at mains pressure), I wouldn't anticipate anything major. It will probably constitute a new connexion to the mains water and the local water undertaker may want to have a look at the plumbing in your house before connecting it to their mains, which is fair enough.

In theory, you might even connect the mains to your existing water tank but take advantage of the mains water direct to your drinking water tap.

Your internal modifications shouldn't be beyond the scope of any competent plumber. Just make sure all redundant pipe is actually disconnected such that there aren't long dead legs of unused pipework left connected.