Mains water pressure drop

[brettjbuckley]

Until about 1 month ago we had very high mains water pressure - this also gave us a powerful shower (fed from our Baxi combi) and strong cold-tap water flow in our sinks and baths

I would estimate that the pressure has almost halved over Christmas. I have checked our main stop tap and it remains fully open. I know that it has nothing to do with the combi boiler because the cold water flow has substantially reduced.

We have mostly elderly neighbours and so I have not questioned them about this yet to see if they have the same problem. Before I call the water board, can anyone think of any other possibilities?

 

[jumbo55]

i think your reasoning is spot on, if the pressure has reduced throughout the house on cold and hot taps. yes ask the the neighbours and if theirs is the same, call your local water carrier. you may have a leaky main outside the house, or they have turned the pressure down for some reason.

 

[brettjbuckley]

Incidentally perhaps, we have a new housing development a couple of hundred yards from our house. They have only progressed so far as clearing the old site though so I doubt that has anything to do with it.

I'll ask the neighbours.

 

[Biggles..]

The water board round here only have to provide 1 bar and have recently reduced pressure on some of their mains to reduce leaks as its to expensive to fix them.
Absolute nightmare for some combi owners.

 

[jumbo55]

if they are doing the groudwork and putting in the services, it could have something to do with it brett, dont be surprised if your neighbours are suffering as well.
the water carriers are supposed to give at least 1 bar pressure, but i come across it many times where they dont, especially with upper maisonettes. the pressure in london seems to be going down and down, so much so that some boiler manufacturers are advertising their boilers only need 0.5 bar to work. this is all it took to work the flowswitch, i'm pretty sure the boiler was a baxi,
same with the gas and supposed to be minimum 21 mbar, i remember erith in kent where the houses were all getting the right pressure of gas and suddenly the place became commercialised and people were getting as low as 12 or 13mbar because of all the big factories going up, what they say and what they do are two different things.

 

[brettjbuckley]

Thanks for all of the advice - I'll feed back my findings.

 

[BoxBasher]

Could be a leak, could be due to pressure reduction, could be due to works elsewhere on the water network, could be pumping problems.

See if your neigbours are affected and then give the company a call to investigate.

the water carriers are supposed to give at least 1 bar pressure, but i come across it many times where they dont, especially with upper maisonettes

Just for the record they are only required to supply a minimum pressure of 1 bar at a flow of 9 litres/min at the highway boundary (where the pavement stops and the garden starts), anything after that isn't up to them.

 

[jumbo55]

the info i have is that its 1 bar pressure to the consumers stopvalve

http://www.waterlink.co.uk/water pressure booster pump.html

think we covered your other points. you are responsible for the pipe on your side of the boundary wall.

as a general point, and one i have already mentioned, they are doing a lot of refurbs in my area of central london, (lucky to have a front garden)
and the local authority dare not fit combi's because of the water pressure and the fact that thames water make no secret of the fact that they wish to reduce it in the future.

 

[BoxBasher]

the info i have is that its 1 bar pressure to the consumers stopvalve

That would be the main stopvalve in the footpath. The phrase stopvalve is usually used because "highway boundary" can be quite a hard thing to explain in some situations.

You will have to give me the benefit of the doubt on this one.