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dpb

wrote:
Am building a house that shares a well with two other lots. The shared
well is located approximately 350-450 feet from the three building
sites. The original plan was to run a separate supply line from the
boost pump/tank located near the well to each house. Due to a screwup
by the now ex site supervisor, only a single 2" line was run under
the road before the trench was filled and the road paved.

The owners told the developer that a single 2" line would not be able
to supply pressurized water to three houses. Wishing to avoid digging
up the road, the developer was able to run a second 1 1/2" line
through the conduit, but there was not enough room to run three
separate lines as originally planned.

There were two options for managing the water lines after the run
under the road (you'll need to view this message in a fixed font to
get the picture):

Option A

|P| | |---------150'-----1 1/2"--| |
|u|===| | | |---300'---------House 1
|m| | |=========150'=====2"======| |---200'---------House 2
|p| | | | |---200'---------House 3

Option B

|P| | |---------150'-----1 1/2"--------300'---------House 1
|u|===| | | |
|m| | |=========150'=====2"======| |---200'---------House 2
|p| | |

Option A was to use a manifold that combined both supply lines after
the road, then split off three house supplies from that manifold.
Option B used the smaller supply line to supply the house farthest
from the well exclusively, and then a splitter off the larger line to
supply the two closer houses.

We ended up going with Option B, but I really can't see that either
option was preferred, given that there is a single boost pump
supplying both lines and the fitting on the pump is smaller than the
larger line.

A chain is no stronger than it's weakest link. Similarly, the minimum
single point restriction is the limiting factor here.

I predict this will be unsatisfactory in the long run as depending on
usage, somebody will be low on flow/pressure.

The answer should have been "none of the above" and the trouble to run a
larger line to a sizable storage/booster tank run. Failing that, one
could get by by rejoining the two feeders into a common header and using
that to feed a communal larger supply reservoir so the upstream pump
limitation is compensated by a larger reservoir.

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