The City of Show Low Water Department has 10 full-time employees who are responsible for maintaining the City’s water system. The City water system includes 18 wells, 11 tanks equaling 8.4 million gallons, 9 booster stations, 44 Pressure Reducing Valves, 70 backflows, along with maintaining records for over 900 customer backflows, roughly 8,000 service connections with new connections being added regularly, 193 miles of water mains, 1,246 fire hydrants, 4,787 valves, and 330 blowoff valves.

Water Department Duties

The primary duty of the Water Crew is to maintain safe and clean drinking water for the City of Show Low and its residents.

Responding to customer complaints and concerns about the water system in a timely manner and diagnosing the issues, and making the necessary repairs to the City’s water system.

With over 8000 water service connections and 193 miles of water mains in the City of Show Low, one of the most important tasks for the water crew is responding to leaks and making repairs to this infrastructure. The Water Crew is on stand-by to make these essential repairs whenever the need may arise.

With an increase in population in the City, the need for new water services is also on the increase. The Water Crew is tasked with the installation of these new services, which include connecting the new water service to the water main and installing the water service line, water meter, and its components.

Daily maintenance and inspection of the wells, booster stations, and tanks. Proper sodium hypochlorite levels must be maintained to ensure healthy and clean water in the City’s water system.

Maintenance of the water system, buildings, and infrastructure is an ongoing task. Cleaning, painting, weed control, and repairs are some of the routine tasks performed to maintain the system in peak operating condition.

Monthly, Quarterly, and Annual testing of the City’s drinking water to assure strict adherence to the ADEQ (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality) standards to guarantee clean and safe drinking water.

Flushing of the water system is a critical job. The City maintains 330 flushing (or blow-off) valves in various locations throughout the water system, which must be flushed regularly to sustain fresh water throughout the City’s water mains.

One of the critical elements in maintaining the safety of drinking water is a backflow prevention program. This ensures that contaminated water is not permitted to enter the public water system. Public Works employees maintain 70 backflow assemblies as part of the City Water System, and is charged with the oversight of an additional 900 customer-owned backflow devices to assure that customers are in compliance with state and federal regulations.

Another important job tasked to the Water Crew is valve maintenance. The City has 4,787 valves throughout the water system that must be regularly cleaned, exercised, and repaired to ensure that during water main breaks, scheduled shutdowns, and routine maintenance that the valves work properly so that the tasks may be completed efficiently.

Meter reading and maintenance of the water meters is a vital job for the Water Crew. Each month, every meter in the City must be read, either through electronic or manual reading, along with making repairs to the meters and their components. The maintenance of the City’s water meters is a time-consuming and crucial endeavor. The City also regularly upgrades its meters and components to ensure efficiency during meter reading.

There are 1,246 fire hydrants throughout the City. In a joint effort with Timber Mesa Fire, these are maintained, cleaned, and flushed, but the responsibility of making repairs to the hydrants falls on the Water Crew.

In various locations throughout the City, there are areas with water pressures that increase because of our mountainous terrain, and to prevent excessive pressures, 43 pressure-reducing valves are installed on the City’s water mains. These valves require regular maintenance and testing to protect the city’s water system and the customer’s home from excessive water pressures.

Reports

This report can be read by viewing the Water Quality Report page.

Contact Information

Feedback and questions from the citizens of our City are welcome. Please feel free to email Jeremiah Johnson, Water Supervisor, or call

928-532-4100, should you have any questions, comments, or concerns.