Parliament rejects ban on drinking water being used in pools

[Paphos Life]

Parliament on Friday rejected a bill which aimed to ban drinking water from use in swimming pools.Water coming from the island's main supply - local boards - is deemed to be drinking water, though locals largely use bottled water....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[jeba]

Water coming from the island's main supply - local boards - is deemed to be drinking water

That´s the part I don´t understand. Is water which has been stored for who knows how long in those white tanks on top of the roof really regarded drinking water just because it stems from the main water board?

[Dominic]

Which was why parliament rejected it.

[cyprusmax47]

Water coming from the island's main supply - local boards - is deemed to be drinking water

That´s the part I don´t understand. Is water which has been stored for who knows how long in those white tanks on top of the roof really regarded drinking water just because it stems from the main water board?

It is very unhealthy to drink the water coming from the storage tank at the roof. Even when having a shower and hair wash and lick your lips or brushing your teeth, I would avoid it. Every household has normally in the kitchen a little tap which comes direct from the mains and is OK to drink.
In the past I always connected the mains direct to all the taps in the house and closed the valve from the tank at the roof. In this case you have to install a pressure reducer that your pipes in the house can cope with it. Side effect is that you don't need a pressure pump anymore, as the pressure from the mains is then good enough, adjusted about 1.5 - 2 bar.

Max

[Devil]

It is very unhealthy to drink the water coming from the storage tank at the roof. Even when having a shower and hair wash and lick your lips or brushing your teeth, I would avoid it. Every household has normally in the kitchen a little tap which comes direct from the mains and is OK to drink.
In the past I always connected the mains direct to all the taps in the house and closed the valve from the tank at the roof. In this case you have to install a pressure reducer that your pipes in the house can cope with it. Side effect is that you don't need a pressure pump anymore, as the pressure from the mains is then good enough, adjusted about 1.5 - 2 bar.

Max

Many houses, ours included, don't have the 'third tap' with a direct mains connection. We have no problems with the tank water and have been using it for 21 years for drinking, as well as all other uses. The water boards put in excess chlorine, most of which evaporates in the roof tank. We have had three microbiological analyses done, to make sure, in summer and winter, and all were within the EU Drinking Water Directive values. After a few years, there is considerable sand accumulating in the tank, which does require occasional draining but this is biologically inert. I wouldn't dare pressurise the house, as you describe, as it would be certain to cause leaks in the cheap plastic piping. We have had two neighbours (same construction) who have had major leaks after adding a pressure pump. As it is, without any pump, we have had one leak after 15 years, requiring lifting tiles and drying out the sand between the slab and the screed over ~2.5 m² (costly).

BTW, what do you do when the mains water is cut for 2 or 3 days, as happens frequently over the island?

[trevnhil]

When we have water cuts we use the water dispenser ie bottled water.. The mains water here is very low pressure, and we have had a pressure pump system for hot and cold water from new... We have had no leaks at all from the plastic pipe joints..

[cyprusmax47]

It is very unhealthy to drink the water coming from the storage tank at the roof. Even when having a shower and hair wash and lick your lips or brushing your teeth, I would avoid it. Every household has normally in the kitchen a little tap which comes direct from the mains and is OK to drink.
In the past I always connected the mains direct to all the taps in the house and closed the valve from the tank at the roof. In this case you have to install a pressure reducer that your pipes in the house can cope with it. Side effect is that you don't need a pressure pump anymore, as the pressure from the mains is then good enough, adjusted about 1.5 - 2 bar.

Max

Many houses, ours included, don't have the 'third tap' with a direct mains connection. We have no problems with the tank water and have been using it for 21 years for drinking, as well as all other uses. The water boards put in excess chlorine, most of which evaporates in the roof tank. We have had three microbiological analyses done, to make sure, in summer and winter, and all were within the EU Drinking Water Directive values. After a few years, there is considerable sand accumulating in the tank, which does require occasional draining but this is biologically inert. I wouldn't dare pressurise the house, as you describe, as it would be certain to cause leaks in the cheap plastic piping. We have had two neighbours (same construction) who have had major leaks after adding a pressure pump. As it is, without any pump, we have had one leak after 15 years, requiring lifting tiles and drying out the sand between the slab and the screed over ~2.5 m² (costly).

BTW, what do you do when the mains water is cut for 2 or 3 days, as happens frequently over the island?

If you read my post properly than you can perhaps see that I mentioned a pressure reducer to be installed....to avoid high pressure from the village water, which can be up to 4-5 bar depending where you live in your village.

Since 1984, when I built my first house at Latchi I had never a water cut more than 2-3 hours ( leak somewhere, new buildings) Later in my second house at Neo Chorion and my third one at Argaka I had no water cuts at all and this in more than 30 years!

Max