A repair schedule turns upkeep into a calendar so that faults are found before taps run dry: inspect the intake, tank and every standpipe weekly, flush the lowest valve for 5 minutes monthly, test for leaks at night with every tap closed, and inspect every visible component yearly. Keep spare pipe, fittings and valve parts on the shelf, and flush and test the water after every repair, because a repair can let dirty water in.
Part of Community Water System
A repair schedule is a written calendar of preventive maintenance tasks for a water system, who does each, how often, and what is recorded.
Faults Found On A Calendar Cost Hours, Faults Found By Thirsty People Cost Days
A water system fails in small steps: a washer wears, a screen blocks, a pad cracks. A schedule makes sure someone looks. The intervals below are taken from the pages named; they are starting points to adjust by what the log shows.
| Interval | Task | Source of the interval |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Check settling basin inlet screen for blockage | Settling Basins |
| Weekly | Inspect intake, tank and all standpipes | Community Water System |
| Weekly | Inspect settling basin weir for sediment | Settling Basins |
| Monthly | Flush: open the lowest valve for 5 minutes | Community Water System |
| Monthly, or when depth falls under 0.5 m | Desilt the settling basin | Settling Basins |
| Quarterly | Check basin walls and floor for cracks | Settling Basins |
| Yearly | Inspect all visible parts: intake screen, break pressure tanks, reservoir, exposed pipes, taps | Distribution Network |
| Before the first frost | Drain exposed sections, insulate tanks | Frost Protection |
| When flow drops | Scrape the slow sand filter | Water Treatment at Scale |
What You Need
- The committee’s task list, with a name for each line (Water Committee)
- A log where each visit is written (Test Log)
- A spares store: lengths of the pipe sizes in use, repair couplings, washers, valve parts, cement, clamps
- A container and a watch, for the night leak test
Method: Run The Calendar And Close The Loop
Step 1: Post the calendar where the committee can see it.
Step 2: On each visit, look for the signs: wet ground and green patches over a pipe, a trickle at a tap that should be shut, a blocked screen, a cracked pad, a tank water level that moves with no one drawing.
Step 3: Run the night leak test (below) at least with each monthly flush.
Step 4: After every repair, flush the section until it runs clear and treat the water as suspect until it is tested (Leak Detection, Community Water Testing).
Step 5: Restock the spare you used, the same week.
Step 6: Review the log each season and move any interval that the faults say is too long.
Worked Example: The Night Leak Test
Leak Detection gives the bands: under 10% loss acceptable, 10-25% needs attention, over 25% critical. A system supplies 3,000 L/day. At night, with every tap closed, 12 L runs out of the tank outlet in 30 minutes.
- 12 L ÷ 1,800 s = 0.00667 L/s.
- × 86,400 s/day = 576 L/day.
- 576 ÷ 3,000 = 19%. In the “needs attention” band.
Close sections one at a time until the tank outlet stops, which isolates the leaking section; repair it; test again.
Common Mistakes
- A schedule nobody reads. Name a person for each line.
- Testing while someone draws water. A tap in use hides the leak.
- Not restocking spares. The next failure then waits for pipe.
- Skipping the flush and test after a repair. The repair is the moment dirty water can enter.
Safety
Repairs open the pipe and can contaminate it
Before cutting into a pressurised line, close the valve upstream and release the pressure. Keep soil, hands and tools out of the open pipe, clean the cut ends, and flush the section before reconnecting it to the supply. In a trench deeper than waist height, never work alone and do not enter unshored (Burial Depth).
What’s Next
- Learn next: Leak Detection — the night test in full
- Combine with: Maintenance and Governance — the organisation that owns the calendar