Overview of Water Production

Ground water is the sole source of potable water in the City of Prescott. The City produces water from eight production wells from the Prescott AMA (Active Management Area) and Airport area. The water disinfected through a chlorine water treatment and then pumped into a five million gallon reservoir at the Chino Production Facility.  From that location, booster pumps convey the water to Prescott via high-pressure water mains. The City’s water quality is excellent, requires very little treatment, and is monitored daily to ensure the highest quality.  As the City of Prescott is fortunate to draw from high quality aquifers, the water requires minimal treatment. Water Operations selects a combination of two treatment processes appropriate to reduce the contaminants found in our groundwater. These two processes are disinfection with the use of Chlorine, Water Blending and Arsenic Removal. The City’s Water Production system includes 8 wells, 26 Water Storage Tanks, 35 Booster Stations and 76 Pressure Regulating sites. These processes and infrastructures ensure the delivery of potable water not only at safe levels, but water quality that surpasses state and federal regulations. These pumps and booster stations supply water to more than 90 different pressure zones throughout the City’s 500 miles of water main pipes. Tank elevations, pumping and controls are managed by our production staff and supplemented by our Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition software (SCADA).

Overview of Water Distribution

Water Distribution staff maintains the City’s water distribution system which begins in the Town of Chino Valley. The water is conveyed from the Chino Production Facility up to the City of Prescott through transmission water mains using booster pumps.  Then water flows through distribution mains into storage facilities throughout the City. Water distribution mains have been engineered to use gravity and additional conveyance mechanisms to distribute potable water to the City’s residents and businesses. Due to the unique geology and elevations of the City, the water system is complex and requires continuous maintenance of approximately 500 miles of water pipes, 12,000 isolation valves and 3,400 fire hydrants and over 24,000 service lines. System maintenance includes water line repairs, service line repairs, fire hydrant inspections, isolation valve inspections, hydrant and valve replacement/repairs, new water service installations, meter upgrades, meter repairs and response to customer service requests.

Overview of Meter Services

Water Metering Services is responsible for the collection of monthly water meter readings for the Utility Billing Dept. They also collect and document meter re-reads, turn-on’s and turn-off’s, meter maintenance and replacements. The Meter Readers also install water meters to establish water service and also disconnects water service as required. Our Metering Services staff collects water meter data for over 24,000 water meters each month using electronic meter reading devices.  The Meter Reading staff also responds to individual service repair orders and is dispatched for various customer inquiries.