Cistern

Slovak term: Slovenský termín

1. A cistern is a tank or storage container in which water is stored (American Society of Sanitary Engineering 2007).

Explanation

A cistern is vessel used to store water.A flushing cistern is used mainly for toilet flushing. It incorporates a per set volume of stored water for flushing. Toilets may incorporate a syphonic action to discharge the flush from the cistern to the WC. Modern toilets have the cistern mounted directly on the toilet bowl. In this arrangement, the flush mechanism (lever or push button) opens a valve to enable a simple gravity discharge (World Plumbing Council Working Group 2008).

Example

A cistern is a device which incorporates a mechanism, normally a float valve, to control the water flush volume. The cistern must incorporate a clear separation air gap between the drinking water supply and any possible source of contamination.Common types;

1. Concealed cistern for wall cavity installation.
2. High level cistern for an elevated discharge.
3. Mid level cistern designed to operate at an accessible level.
4. Low level or close coupled cistern designed to operate from the pan top.
5. A single flush designed to deliver only one pre determined volume of flush.
6. Dual flush designed to deliver water efficient reduced volume options. e.g. 4.5 or 3

litre flushes. (World Plumbing Council Working Group 2008).

References

• American Society of Sanitary Engineering (2007) Plumbing dictionary. Sixth edition

Links

• WHO — The Health and Environment Lexicon