Start with a proper lab analysis, not a strip test from a hardware store. Iron, manganese, hardness, pH, turbidity and a bacterial count tell you what the water actually carries. Rust-brown staining on basins and laundry usually points to iron above 0.3 mg/L, while a metallic taste and black flecks in the kettle often mean manganese. Once we have the numbers, we can say whether you need filtration, disinfection, or simply a sediment stage and a flush.

That is almost always a supply or storage problem rather than a tap problem. A pressure switch cycling on and off, an undersized pressure vessel, or a tank stand that cannot feed the booster fast enough will all show up the moment demand rises. On body corporate and multi-unit sites we usually rebuild the tank stand, fit a correctly sized vessel, and move to a variable-speed booster so the pump matches draw instead of hammering on and off.

No. UV handles bacteria and viruses, but it does nothing for sediment, iron or manganese, and cloudy water shields organisms from the lamp. That is why we fit a sediment filter ahead of the reactor and size the UV for peak morning demand, not average flow. Guesthouses and farm houses on borehole supply often see bacterial counts climb after heavy rain, so a sample tap after the UV and quarterly lab checks are worth building in from the start.

Less than most people expect, but the drain line matters more than the skid itself. A two-stage iron and manganese setup with backwashing needs a clear run to a soakaway or storm drain, and enough headroom to pull a filter head without dismantling pipework. Where the room is tight, we mount the skid on a raised frame and route the drain along the wall. Send a photo of the pump house with the door open and we can tell you fairly quickly what will fit.

Sediment cartridges swapped on a schedule, the tank inspected and cleaned at least once a year, and the pressure vessel pre-charge checked when pressure starts behaving oddly. UV lamps lose output long before they fail completely, so we log lamp hours and replace on the manufacturer interval. A simple wall chart in the pump room, with dates and cartridge sizes written on it, keeps the whole thing honest between visits.

Our regular routes run through Hartbeespoort, the East Rand and the Stellenbosch area, and that is where most of our pump room and trenching work sits. For sites further out we still review lab results and photos, and can talk through what a local plumber would need to install. Rainwater harvesting setups on farms and smallholdings are usually planned the same way, with the tank, first-flush and filtration stages laid out before anyone digs.