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Does running water require electricity?

post #1 of 7
9/18/09 at 10:16pm
Thread Starter 
I was just talking to someone about power outages and water shortages. They said that if there is total power failure (assuming no backup generators or anything like that) that our plumbing wouldn't work, and nothing would happen when you turn on your faucets.

I thought that plumbing for running water pre-dated electricity. Can someone explain how this works?
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post #2 of 7
9/18/09 at 10:23pm
I don't think you can give a one size fits all answer. For a lot of towns a total power outage would shut down any number of valves, gates, and other means of controlling and/or delivering water, although I suppose these could all have manual back ups. In general I believe a lot of water is still gravity feed so its not so much a mater of getting it from the source as it is making sure the water goes where you want it. That said I don't think there are a lot of electric pumps involved so of all the services you expect in a modern city water is one of the least dependent on power.
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post #3 of 7
9/18/09 at 10:32pm
Water towers. As long as the towers have water in them, you'll have water pressure. Once they are drained you're out of luck.
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post #4 of 7
9/18/09 at 10:33pm
That's why I have a good old fashioned well. Too bad it's got bad water
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post #5 of 7
9/18/09 at 10:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota rube View Post
Water towers.
As long as the towers have water in them, you'll have water pressure. Once they are drained you're out of luck.

This is my understanding as well. I was actually at my county's "water resources center" today, and it is very clearly built at one of the highest points in the area. Even with modern facilities gravity plays an important role.
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post #6 of 7
9/18/09 at 11:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrG View Post
This is my understanding as well. I was actually at my county's "water resources center" today, and it is very clearly built at one of the highest points in the area. Even with modern facilities gravity plays an important role.

Interestingly, some of the next generation nuclear reactors rely on good old gravity as a very important safety feature to cool the reactor core down in the event of emergency..

The worries about TMI made somebody sit up and think, WTF? Why don't we just use gravity instead of all these pumps.. Occam's Razor..
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post #7 of 7
9/19/09 at 12:44am
In some places like Thailand many houses and hotels use electric pumps to bring water into the building. In a house that we stayed in, we had a couple of power outages and sure enough, no running water.
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