We explain the fundamental role of water towers in modern public water systems. Often the most visible component of a municipal water infrastructure, water towers are essentially large, elevated tanks that perform critical functions beyond just storing water.

Discover how water towers store energy by using gravity to maintain consistent water pressure throughout the distribution system. This gravitational energy helps deliver clean water to homes and businesses, ensuring adequate flow from faucets and preventing issues like low water pressure or contamination.

Learn how these elevated storage tanks enable municipalities to smooth out peaks and valleys in water demand. Instead of requiring multiple large pumps or constantly cycling pumps to meet peak hourly demand, water towers allow pumps and other upstream infrastructure like water treatment plants to be sized for average demands. This significantly reduces cost and complexity, and allows for pumps to run at night when electricity is cheaper to fill the tanks.

The overview highlights their crucial role in public health and safety, especially by providing backup capacity and readily available water for firefighting during emergencies or power outages. You'll understand how their storage capacity (typically a day's worth for a community) ensures reliability and almost no downtime for water supply.