How Water Is Delivered To Your House

As water leaves the plant, it is stored in large covered reservoirs until needed by our customers. Phoenix can store up to 450 million gallons of drinking water, ready for use at any time.

To begin its trip to your house, water leaves the reservoir through large pipes, some as big as 108-inches (9 feet) in diameter. Then the water flows through a vast network of pipes called a distribution system. The Phoenix distribution system has more than 5,000 miles of water mains buried beneath streets and alleys.

One of the laws of nature is that water runs downhill. In Phoenix, most of the contour of the land creating a "downhill" is toward the Salt River. At elevations too high to be served from the reservoirs by gravity, booster pumping stations are operated to maintain adequate pressure...at least 40 pounds per square inch. The city owns and operates approximately 85 booster stations.

Throughout the distribution system, chemists take samples to make certain the water meets or surpasses all federal and state standards. The water we provide our customers is monitored frequently to make sure it does not contain organisms that can transmit disease, and that it tastes, smells and looks good.

Each water treatment plant operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The men and women who treat the water have extensive knowledge of mathematics and chemistry and must pass an examination given by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to obtain a license. Operators must have a license before they can work at a water treatment plant.

Our operators take their jobs very seriously and realize the importance of the product they produce. Every hour they conduct tests on the condition of the water and inspect all operating equipment throughout the plant. They want the water to be safe for family, friends...and themselves.