How does water go up into my faucet without a motor? I’m assuming water pressure is involved somehow?
In: 1
Water flows downhill due to gravity, just like anything else. The water that feeds your home is stored in a water tower or tank that keeps the water higher than your home. The water is initially pumped up there.
Yes it is pressure but really water from your faucet is actually flowing down with gravity, that’s why water towers are up high, so water can come out of your faucet without a pump. The height difference between the water tower and your faucet determines the pressure, this doesn’t work for building taller than the water tower which is why tall buildings have water tanks on top
You still need to pump the water up to the tower at some point, but having gravity do the final distributing means you don’t have to manage water pressure with pumps, gravity does it for you
It depends on where you are getting your water from. If you live in a city, it is likely you are on city water, which is supplied by a local water tower. The tower will sit higher than the buildings it supplies, generating the pressure that eventually gets into your home and out of your faucet.
If you live on a private well, you will have a well pump of some kind that draws the water up directly from the water table into your home.
Civil engineer here:
If your town/city has a water tower, then that supplies the initial pressure to move water to your home. If the water has to move uphill, then it would loose that pressure. To maintain pressure, a booster pump shed will be installed to intercept the water and add additional pressure to keep it moving up. This is also used if the town/city does not have a water tower and just all moves through a large pump station. Water supply distribution is especially difficult in the northeast where there are situations where you pump down a mountain and back up again, but at the bottom of the mountain there’s actually too much pressure, and the pressure needs to be released at the bottom.
As for the sewer side of it, it all flows downhill from the drain. If you have to go back up bill again, a sewer pump station is used with another pressure pipe just like the water system until it eventually gets to a place where it can move downhill and eventually to a wastewater treatment plant.
Latest Answers