There may be a slight drop in the high pressure in the big pipes buried in your street, but this would not be noticeable inside your home, where the normal pressure is much lower. Here at the water district, however, our computer would sound an alarm telling us the water level in the tank that serves your area is dropping faster than usual. Actually, Adam, we don't pump water to your house, we pump it to a large storage tank that holds water for your house and many others in your area. Typically, about one-third of a tank's capacity serves the daily needs of the users connected to it. The rest of the water in the tank is reserved for emergencies, periods of high demand and for fighting fires.
Water escaping from a broken main can cause serious personal injury or even death.
It can also cause a lot of damage to public streets, private property and the environment. To keep this from happening, water systems are constructed using pipe that has been tested and proven to work at pressures far greater than normal. All rights reserved.