Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on covers for water tanks and pipes at roof top of HDB flats
Nov 8, 2016
Mr Gan Thiam Poh: To ask the Minister for National Development whether HDB can explore building concrete slabs over water tanks and pipes at the roof top of old HDB flats or other effective methods to cover the tanks and pipes to prevent them from being exposed under strong sunlight as a result of which water flowing out from the taps in the flats will not be overly hot for use.
Answer:
In older HDB blocks, the water tanks are housed in the roof top water tank rooms, which are not exposed to direct sunlight. Hence, water tanks might not be the cause of the feedback on hot water flowing out of the taps of some flats during hot weather. The likely cause is exposure of the main water distribution pipes to the sun’s heat, especially for pipes running over a long distance due to the block’s configuration of a long span.
It is thus doubtful that the suggestion to build concrete slabs as shelter for the tanks and pipes will address the problem. In addition, the building structure and rooftop of HDB blocks may not be designed to take such additional load. There are other feasible ways to mitigate the extent of water pipes being heated up. Town Councils could install rigid PVC pipes as a cover over the water pipes to provide some insulation. For shorter water pipes, reflective paints could also be used to reflect solar radiation.