Threats of contamination of drinking water by water from the fire protection systems

Agnieszka Malesińska , A. Czapczuk , J. Dawidowicz

Abstract

In accordance with applicable regulations, drinking water should be protected against secondary pollution. This is especially important when not only drinking water installations but also fire protection installations use one water supply. In the case of fire protection installations, the risk of water contamination is significant due to the higher pressure in the sprinkler systems. Adding right class backflow preventer to the water supply pipe will generate a significant loss of pressure. While in newly specified sprinkler systems additional pressure head may be taken into account at the calculation stage, it may be a problem in modernized existing installations.