Ann Arbor encourages all to Imagine a Day Without Water

Thursday, Oct. 15, is Imagine a Day Without Water Day, which highlights the value of water, the infrastructure and people that make safe, reliable water possible.

For Ann Arbor, the day is also an opportunity to consider why going without water can be so difficult to imagine in the first place.

While access to water may not be top of mind when it’s readily available, a busted water line at home, a water main break or even a temporary shutoff during construction can quickly become impossible to ignore.

Every day, City of Ann Arbor staff works behind the scenes to keep safe, reliable water flowing. That work starts long before water reaches a faucet.

Protect it

Ann Arbor is fortunate to have abundant freshwater resources, but having water nearby isn't the same as having safe drinking water. Approximately 85% of Ann Arbor's drinking water begins in the Huron River, making protection of the river and its watershed an important part of protecting the community's drinking water.

Treat it

Source water must be treated, tested and monitored before it reaches the community. Staff at the Ann Arbor Water Treatment Plant operate the system around the clock, treating drinking water and continually monitoring water quality.

Move it

Treating water is only part of the job. A network of water pipes, pumps, valves and other infrastructure moves drinking water throughout Ann Arbor to homes, schools, businesses, hospitals, fire hydrants and other places where it is needed.

Much of that system is part of the world beneath our feet, infrastructure likely not often seen or thought about.

Maintain it

Water infrastructure doesn't last forever. Water pipes and other parts of the system must be inspected, maintained, repaired and eventually replaced.

Sometimes maintaining reliable water even means temporarily interrupting it. When crews replace a water main or connect new infrastructure, nearby homes and businesses may temporarily lose water service.

The interruption can be inconvenient, but it is also part of the work necessary to keep the system reliable.

Sometimes the city must shut off water today to help keep it flowing tomorrow.

Leave it better

Much of the water infrastructure Ann Arbor relies on exists because previous generations planned for it, built it and invested in it.

Today's responsibility is to maintain and improve that system while planning for what Ann Arbor will need in the decades ahead.

The city notes reliability is something that’s inherited, and something that must be maintained.

Imagine a Day Without Water is led nationally by the Value of Water Campaign. Communities, utilities and organizations across the country participate each year to highlight the importance of water and the systems that provide it.

Learn more about Ann Arbor's drinking water, where it comes from and the work that keeps safe, reliable water flowing at annarborwater.org. 

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Media Contact: 

Robert Kellar, Communications Specialist, rkellar@a2gov.org