Water towers

I always thought that water towers were only used to create the pressure needed to get water into buildings.

Now, I watched a video that told me that water towers do do that, but that the water in them is actually used. So the water tower is actually the water supply (and because of elevation and gravity, it supplies the pressure) and is refilled every night with water pumps.

I tried googling this and this latter seems to be true.
It’s breaking my mind.
Why in hell would you create such a system? Surely if you need water in case electricity fails, then having to use pumps every night (and they ain’t horse powered pumps there in Manhattan) is a bit of an inconvenience?

Or are the water towers in Europe different?

Do we have a water tower expert here?

Cheers!

@shavixmir said
I always thought that water towers were only used to create the pressure needed to get water into buildings.

Now, I watched a video that told me that water towers do do that, but that the water in them is actually used. So the water tower is actually the water supply (and because of elevation and gravity, it supplies the pressure) and is refilled every night with water p ...[text shortened]...

Or are the water towers in Europe different?

Do we have a water tower expert here?

Cheers!

The water towers are also excess capacity for when everyone gets home in the evenings, flushes the toilets and jumps in the shower, etc…. Mechanical pumps have demand side limitations. They can’t operate at extremes, or if the can ( using variable frequency drives- electronics that control the speed of the electric motors that drive the pumps) they don’t do so very efficiently. So while demand is low the pumps are filling the towers for when everyone gets home and opens the taps.

I’m not sure if I answered your question, as I didn’t seem to fully get what you were asking?

@joe-shmo said
The water towers are also excess capacity for when everyone gets home in the evenings, flushes the toilets and jumps in the shower, etc…. Mechanical pumps have demand side limitations. They can’t operate at extremes, or if the can ( using variable frequency drives- electronics that control the speed of the electric motors that drive the pumps) they don’t do so very efficie ...[text shortened]... ps.

I’m not sure if I answered your question, as I didn’t seem to fully get what you were asking?

Sort of.

What I mean is: I was always informed (take “informed” with a large dose of salt and muchos probable interpretation) that water towers are only for the water pressure. Not that the water in them was actually used for consumption of any kind.

But I take it I’m gravely mistaken on this matter?

This may be of interest. If you like engineering, this guy's channel is excellent.

YouTube

@shavixmir said
Sort of.

What I mean is: I was always informed (take “informed” with a large dose of salt and muchos probable interpretation) that water towers are only for the water pressure. Not that the water in them was actually used for consumption of any kind.

But I take it I’m gravely mistaken on this matter?

Yeah, the water in the tower is definitely consumed. It's not just to maintain pressure. If they were just for pressure they could be tall slender columns ( without any significant volume ). Watch this video to see a surprising demonstration on exploding a barrel with a tiny volume of water.

YouTube

The video Russ linked about the many functions of the water tower explains it all very well, definitely give it a watch too.

Thanks lads!

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out water can only be pumped out of the ground at a certain rate, so you build up a supply when demand is very low to meet demand when it is very high.


You would be wasting a lot of money building enough wells so that water usage is met by water immediately pumped out of the ground. Those pumps would be turning off and on all day everyday.

@joe-shmo
When you say not very efficient, are you talking about the actual pump or the combination of pump and drive motor that runs the actual pump part.
I have done electric motors of all styles for 50 + years and for the most part they are 90+% efficient at least turning electricity into torque.
I WISH my gas powered car was that efficient🙂
So I think you are saying while the motor might be 90+ the water pump itself may be more like 30 or 40% efficient, thus negating pretty much the high efficiency of modern motors?
I never did a study on total efficiency in these systems, only my cryo pumps take X amount of current at Y voltage, 3 or 4 Kw for the helium cryo pumps and mechanical roughing pumps, taking roughly the same for roughing out vacuum chambers. I guess you would know about that stuff as well.
I have been in the tech world as a technician for some 70 years now, starting when I was about 5 and going to my neighbors house where he had one of those 1940's tube radios on a bench and it did not have a case, bare chassis.
ATT they used the electric plug to plug in so the neutral wire goes to the chassis and 110 goes internally but in that case, it was plugging where the chassis itself had 110 compared to ground and of COURSE I had to touch it, glowing tubes hanging out on that chassis🙂 It was a bit of a wake up call! So that set me up, WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT ABOUT? Was my reaction ATT🙂
So I got interested in electronics and amateur radio and such and did such work as being on Apollo *Apollo tracking and timing* and in cleanrooms around the world, including about all of the 90's in and out of Israel at Intel in Jerusalem as a contractor, my company was Varian and they USED to be big in Ion Implanters but sold out around 96 and that ended my implanter career🙂
Still work clean rooms even now though, part time now though.

Not directly related to the question at hand but Niel deGrasse Tyson finds water tower construction fascinating:

YouTube : NdGT Water Towers