PHOENIX — The Valley has had two large fires over the past few weeks and putting those fires out takes a lot of water.
Many factors are at play when managing the fourth-largest water system in the country. Even weather can be a game changer for water supply and demand.
Crews jump into action when they hear the phone ring inside the Phoenix Water Department's command center.
“They know when that specific phone rings what needs to happen,” said Mary Beckner, Phoenix Water Services superintendent. “They are pretty critical because they are out in the street and they are first responders."
The Water Department's job is to work hand-in-hand with firefighters on the scene during a fire and tell them which fire hydrants they need to use.
“We look at our hydrants, we look at our maps to see if there is another hydrant that they can hook up to. We see if there is a way we can isolate a section so they can draw more water from that area,” said Beckner.
Depending on the size of the fire and the number of fire crews on the scene, the Water Department places the crews in the best spots where they can get the maximum water flow.
“When we get into a big one a rather large one like a recycle fire or pallet fire. We have to redirect them from smaller water mains to larger water mains,” said Michael Balian, Water Services project coordinator for the City of Phoenix.
Sometimes there are limitations and they have to find solutions to get the water that is needed.
“There is only one water main we can try to stretch them out to other hydrants a little bit further down the street,” said Beckner
