Garden water meter / external water meter

In the utility room, there is a branch behind the water meter, with a meter inside, and then continuing to the outdoor water tap. Quite simple if you plan it from the beginning.

In the new building, the garden water taps (there will be 2) are therefore not connected to the normal ring line but to an extra branch. This has the advantage that we can shut off the garden water in the basement and also install a meter permanently frost-proof.

However, it must not be too long, otherwise there will be too much standing water. Therefore, our plumbing company advised us against it.

Hello,

But it must not be too long, otherwise there will be too much standing water.
Therefore, our plumbing company advised us against it.

It always depends on the current floor plan. For us, a ring main would have been even longer, since one garden water connection is on the west side of the house, while all other sanitary installations (utility room, kitchen, and bathrooms) are on the east side. In that case, the ring main would have been twice as long as the branch line.

But yes, with such a branch line, you should run the water for a short time before drinking it. For garden water, though, it doesn't matter.

And the branch line has the additional advantage that I can easily install it as a 3/4 inch line. This delivers about twice as much water for garden irrigation as the standard 1/2 inch line.

Best regards,

Andreas

Thanks for the tip . I called our municipality yesterday and found out that garden water meters are allowed. We only need to report the meter after installation and then provide the meter reading at the end of the year. That suits us very well because we want to start sowing the lawn next week.
We are holding off on the garden well for now, as we are in the catchment area of an open-pit mine, which means the field distance is a good 22m (artificial lowering). We would need to calculate again whether it’s worth it for 350m² of lawn area.

You can inquire about the condition of "your" groundwater at the district environmental offices. The ELWAS-WEB platform (NRW) is also interesting in this context.

Maybe a brief note on garden water wells from professional practice: In most municipalities in NRW they are allowed. Wells are actually subject to reporting requirements (which the well driller actually takes care of), but this often doesn’t happen. It only becomes problematic if the environmental authority discovers groundwater damage in the area. If the wells are known, it can be investigated more quickly whether the water is contaminated (in addition to the other measuring points) and watering can be at least temporarily stopped. Field crops absorb pollutants to varying degrees. There is also the possibility that watering causes pollutants to accumulate additionally in the soil.

Regards Rina

With us, it is not worth it. The friendly person on the phone said it is only worth it if you have a small jungle or garden operation....

He also wants to keep the workload low for himself.