From source to tap
How does the water system work?
Humans, plants and animals need water to live. But less than one per cent of water is available for our consumption. In most of Slovenia, there is no shortage of water, so it flows into our homes through pipes and taps.
Surface fresh water comes from streams, rivers, lakes, glaciers and icebergs. There is also water below the earth's surface. It is called groundwater. This is water that flows from the surface through soil, sand and gravel to the impermeable layer of rock. In Slovenia, groundwater is the main source of drinking water.
Source: Pixabay
Water circulates. When it rains, the soil becomes very saturated, and water percolates through various layers deeper into the ground. As it moves through permeable layers, the water is purified. When the water encounters an impermeable layer of soil, it no longer percolates but collects there as groundwater. This groundwater seeks a way forward. At the edge of the impermeable layer, a spring forms.
The water from the spring is found in a stream or dammed and stored as drinking water. If the water is not captured for drinking water, a deep borehole or well is drilled into the surface of the ground to reach the water table
Water from wells and reservoirs travels through thick water pipes to reach houses, blocks of flats, factories and other consumers. A water network is a system of waterworks and a branching network of pipes. Water pipes are installed below the surface at a depth that prevents the water from freezing in the event of low temperatures. From these main water pipes, thinner pipes lead to houses and other buildings. From the connection, water flows through water pipes that are routed through the house to the kitchen, bathroom, toilet... At the end of each pipe, there is a water tap. When it is opened, water flows out. When you turn it off, water stops flowing out of the pipe.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The first water pipelines system on our territory were built in Roman Emmona, in the 3rd or early 4th century. In the Middle Ages, public drinking water supplies died out. All major towns in Slovenia received public water supply in the late 19th or early 20th century.
- They used to be supplied by wells drilled into groundwater sources. People came to the wells every day to fetch water and carried it home in jugs or buckets.