Water Distribution Hose
Emergency Response Systems for Water and Wastewater Fittings and Coupplings High Quality Hose for Water and Wastewater Resources

Water Distribution in California: What hose should you use?

Water Distribution Hose

An article for water distribution providers

Have you had a situation where providing potable water was critical?

Maybe the only way possible was thru a lay-flat hose. Many water distributors go thru this dilemma. This can happen via water main breaks, planned outages, pipe rehabilitation, or some contractor who thought the water main was 5 feet in the other direction.

As a water provider, you must do your due diligence on providing the safest and efficient method of delivery to your customers.

California Regulation On Water Distribution

In the state of California, it is suggested to use an “NSF-61 rated lay-flat hose for drinking water, due to its high-quality material and rigorous tests.”

According to the California Code of Regulations, “No equipment used in the generation process shall be in contact with a drinking water, or a chemical to be applied to drinking water, after March 9, 2008, unless the equipment has been tested and certified as meeting the specifications of NSF” (Title 22, Section 64591.CA Code of Regulations)

Hose For Water Distribution

It is important that you use the right lay flat hose for water distribution. As noted above, California requires you to use an NSF-61 potable hose for drinking water.

Check the requirements within your own state’s guidelines before making your purchase.

Fittings and Couplings

Furthermore, you must ensure your fittings and couplings are rated for water. Led free brass is usually available but on the expensive side. Plastic is usually the way to go, but they only go up to 2”. If you have a bigger diameter you need, you will have to go with aluminum fittings and couplings.

Most aluminum fittings start at 4” in the United States, you can get a 3” NSF hose, but you will be hard-pressed to find aluminum fittings in 3” that connect to NSF hose other than fire hydrant fittings. Typically, 4” 6” 8”10” 12” are the larger sizes that aluminum fittings have the capability for connecting to NSF hose via Victaulic couplings and fittings.

How To Use A lay flat hose during water main break
Emergency Response Systems for Water and Wastewater Fittings and Coupplings High Quality Hose for Water and Wastewater Resources

The Benefits Of A Lay Flat Hose

How To Use A lay flat hose during water main break

The public will wait for movies, dinner tables, and Black Friday but NOT water! As a water distributor, your response time to a break or disaster is constantly being monitored by the public. A lay flat hose program bridges the gap between break and repair, giving you back crucial time to repair your hard pipe.

Benefits Of Using A Lay Flat Hose

Response times using a lay flat hose are much faster than with a hard pipe, even though the lay flat hose is only a temporary solution. Having a flexible pipeline solution is critical to any situation when you aren’t sure where you will be working.

A lay flat hose pipe can transport a high volume of water quickly, efficiently, and without error so that you can focus on solving the issue at hand.

The lay flat hose will not solve all your problems but will definitely give you another tool out in the field, where things rarely go as imagined. When it comes to disasters or water main breaks, you’ll need any resource available to fix your problem.

In a flood, it is also better for first responders to utilize an above-ground water transportation system, as it is safer and more effective. Most people do not realize how dangerous a flooded area can be. Sending people in with buckets just doesn’t cut it.

  • Made of resilient materials
  • Extremely flexible making them perfect for unpredictable emergencies
  • Long life spans mean you get the most out of your investment
  • Accessible to store and transport
  • Lightweight

Water Distribution Systems

The best water distribution systems allow the user to go from a hydrant using NSF 61 potable hose for drinking water to a meter or hose bib. These systems allow you the flexibility to lay a pipeline down a block or many blocks. Proprietary road ramps are also used to enable efficient handling of hose across roads.

No system is perfect, and whether it be on the home or city level, things are bound to break down. However, the right above-ground water transportation system is critical for dealing with floodwater and wastewater.

Likewise, over 850 water main breaks across the United States every day, adding up to over 6.5 million total breaks. In each of these instances, not only will responders need to clear away water before it can deal more damage, but they will need a temporary water transportation system to keep everything moving.

Dealing with a water main break and cutting off water for an entire block are two completely different issues entirely. That’s why Lay Flat Hoses are made up of a highly flexible and resistant material that can go across streets and sidewalks alike.

How To Choose Between Lay Flat Hoses

There are plenty of heavy-duty hose solutions available online, but how do you choose a high-quality option? You want something better than the run-of-the-mill backwash hose at your local big-box retail store.

To put it in perspective, most people will go through a standard pool hose once a year through natural wear and tear. Chances are, these hoses are flimsy and won’t hold up to the pressure of backwashing their pool.

Something like a 50 ft hose kept by the pool section won’t stand up to a water main break, especially not as a permanent solution. Water main breaks especially espouse a higher volume of water and take longer to fix. So choosing the wrong hose in this situation could potentially damage your efforts and people’s health.

Emergency Response

Water main breaks and floods can cause damages to property and create dangerous environments. Nobody wants someone to get hurt because you don’t have the proper equipment to deal with a disaster.

For these critical scenarios, you’ll need a water hose designed to satisfy industrial applications. It should come equipped with the proper hose fittings and an emergency response transportation solution. Specialized distributors will offer customized hose assembly and are prepared to deal with water discharge.

lay flat hose system

 

With a pump or hose reel-mounted pump, you can bypass sewer lines or promptly remove water from flooded areas from point A to point B.

Not only is a lay flat hose effective at dealing with most natural disasters, but it is safe for both the user and anyone nearby, which is the most important goal in a disaster situation.

Lay flat hoses are even used to help combat deadly wildfires as they are perfectly designed to bypass the debris and chaos of the situation to get water where it needs to go.

Permanent Solutions

A lay flat hose can also be used as a permanent solution. In our company history, we have had several cases where utilities use their NSF lay flat hose as means to get water to people for months and even years. The most challenging aspects of providing NSF hose as a permanent solution are general safety procedures.

Likewise, if a utility does have to cross streets with the hose, they should have a good solution on how to do it. Without crossing roads with the hose, the most significant concerns are safety and making sure the hose will hold at the pressure you want. In general, NSF hose working pressures can hold pretty high. For example, 1″ has a working pressure of around 350 PSI and 4″ around 250 PSI with most NSF hose manufacturers.

Check Out Our Selection Of Lay Flat Hoses And Accessories!