Build a communal tap stand by pouring a concrete pad 1.5 m × 1.5 m and 10 cm thick, sloped 2% away from the tap on all sides, setting a vertical pipe 50 cm above the pad in the concrete and connecting it to the supply pipe below, then fitting a tap and cutting a channel from the pad edge to a soakaway pit 1 m × 1 m × 1 m filled with rocks. The pad takes 0.225 m³ of concrete.
Part of Water Distribution
A standpipe is a vertical pipe with a tap, set in a concrete pad, from which a community collects water. The pad, the drain and the soakaway keep the ground around it clean and dry.
The Pad And The Drain Matter As Much As The Pipe
A tap alone, set in bare ground, quickly sits in a puddle. Concrete under the user’s feet and a fall toward a drain keep the area firm and clean. The soakaway carries the spill away from the tap and away from any well.
What You Need
- Cement, sand and gravel for 0.225 m³ of concrete
- A vertical pipe, galvanized or PVC, long enough to rise 50 cm above the pad and connect below
- A tap (Tap Types)
- Formwork for the pad edges
- Rock to fill the soakaway, and a pipe or open channel from the pad to it
- A level and a straight board
Method: Pit, Pipe, Pad, Tap, Drain
Step 1: Excavate and prepare the base. Dig the shallow pad area and the soakaway pit; compact the pad base.
Step 2: Connect the supply pipe and set the vertical pipe so its top will be 50 cm above the finished pad. Brace it plumb.
Step 3: Pour the pad, 1.5 m × 1.5 m and 10 cm thick, with the surface sloping 2% away from the tap on all sides. Use the board and level to set the fall.
Step 4: Cure it damp for several days (Curing).
Step 5: Fit the tap, with a valve upstream so you can isolate it for repair.
Step 6: Build the drainage channel from the pad edge to the soakaway, and fill the pit with rocks, covering it with flat stones.
Worked Example
Pad volume = 1.5 × 1.5 × 0.10 = 0.225 m³, which is 225 L of concrete.
A 2% slope falls 2 cm per metre. If the tap is at the centre, the pad edge is 0.75 m away, so it is 0.75 × 0.02 = 0.015 m = 1.5 cm lower than the tap’s foot. If the tap is on one edge and the water drains to the opposite edge, the fall over 1.5 m is 1.5 × 0.02 = 0.03 m = 3 cm. The soakaway pit is 1 m³; the rocks leave only part of that as open space (Soakaway).
Common Mistakes
- A pad that slopes toward the tap or is flat. Water pools around the pipe.
- A pipe not braced while the concrete sets. It leans and stresses the joint below.
- No valve ahead of the tap. Every repair then shuts the branch.
- The tap spout too low or too close to the ground. Dirty containers touch it. Keep the spout well above any container’s rim.
- A soakaway next to a well or latrine.
Safety
Wet concrete and a pipe under pressure
Wet cement burns skin and eyes; wear gloves and eye protection. Do not connect the standpipe to the live line without closing the valve upstream first, and release the pressure before you work on any joint.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Tap Types — choosing the tap that goes on top
- Combine with: Drainage Design — managing the water that gets away