Power outages and water pressure - Noobie question
 

Happy Tuesday, all!

Hopefully this is a straightforward question with a straightforward answer.

When we lose power, in The Villages, do we simultaneously lose water pressure for the duration of the outage?

Many thanks, in advance.

No.

Depends on area of village’s, in my area rarely loose power and when did didn’t effect water pressure. Water pressure in my area runs 55 PSI, early morning may drop some with all irrigation water running, not on pond water for irrigation in my area.

Water pressure has nothing to do with a power outage. But you should buy a pressure gauge that will screw onto an outside hose bib so you can monitor your water pressure.

You will not lose water pressure. (Chances are good you will not lose power either)

A good answer would require you to let us know where you live in TV. We are in the area around Brownwood with power provided by SECO, and VERY reliable. We have been here for around 13 years, longest outage around 1-hour, total number of outages probably less than 6, and never lost water pressure.

Accoding to a source who works in the Villages, our water system has double redundant power generators in case of a power outage which very rarely happens here. So the chances of loosing water during a power outage is basically close to zero. No need to fill up the bathtub when a storm is coming.

The Villages Also Have back up Power and Generators
 

The Villages also have a backup electric power generation and distribution to supply critical power to utilities such as firewater, potable water, and sewer lift stations. The details are complicated combinations but have worked well in my 13 years here. These facilities further reduce the probability of potable water and sewage return outages beyond the base reliable electric power.

For example, if you pass by a sewer lift station in your village you may see a diesel pump or generator at the station. If you travel Drake road, there is a pump station with a diesel generator there to supply firewater. These are just a couple of utility situations with back up power in case of electrical grid outage

never has lost power in the 10 years I have been here, I have SECO electricity.

I have lived in Pennecamp 14 years and experienced an outage of 20 min caused by a faulty switch on the power grid.
Question is non applicable for my experience

Your in the Villages and we can get hurricanes etc. We should all expect to will loose power and we should have an emergency kit available including non perishable food and bottled water on hand regardless of the potential for loosing water and needing to shelter in place.

Post above claimed never lost power in 10 years. I have noticed power problems three times times in the six years I have been here full time and once lasted over an hour.

My "emergency kit" is a spare refrigerator full of frosty beverages.

We have SECO in Linden Isle and have rarely lost power. SECO has a great reputation. We are not worried. We also have water pressure. If your water depends on a pump and is private, you might be in trouble. Not here.

Where you live is very important since some poles are still above the ground. I was without power for one week in late December and three weeks in late January in Michigan. People with large dogs and good comforters did quite well! As a result we have a small generator to run a separate refrigerator for meds, and a good cooler. We also have a small Weber grill for cooking. Our concern is more tornadoes and electrical storms, both of which can knock out power.

I am impressed with the ethics of power companies down here and quick responses.
In our seven years, the concern has been tornadoes and flooding if the TV system can not keep up with newer storms. A 1000 yr storm turned the lake in my home town into a river. Most designs are for a 100 year storm event. Check your home elevation. We are at 83 ft. Bring in your chairs and pots, charge your power banks, gas your vehicles, and fill a few jugs of water. Then find the quiet room your pets have taken over.

Soooo... we can assume you don't need one of those $18000.00 Generic generator backup systems? 😏

No.

Thank you, Tinker!

I'm in Duval. Home is 16 years old, if that is important.

Seems that I should not be concerned about thinking of filling my bathtub.....I've been told that this is a tactic from the folks on wellwater....no electricity to pump, no flushing of toilets....

Ha, Bill!

YUP....two refrigerators and a stand up freezer, me....gallons of frozen drinking water (that double as icepacks when bringing home seafood from the Gulf) stashed in that bad boy!

This is true. We did exactly that for our home in MD which was on a well and lost power during hurricanes.

Thanks for the ratification, Bill!

Not in the hysterical (historical) area. There is a backup generator near the water tower.

I think "The Villages" is so big that there may not be one correct answer based on your specific location and also which specific independent water system you're referring to.

In general, municipal potable water systems are designed to prevent outages. In many parts of The Villages (though not so much in the very southern sections from what I've seen), there are high "water towers". These support the system by pumping water up in to the tower and then using the potential energy of that higher water to pressurize the system -- so as long as we still have gravity and water left in the tower there will be pressure. Of course eventually that water will run out if used by residents and not refilled, so things like backup generators or engine-driven pumps can be used in case of power outages to keep the refill pumps running.

Non-potable irrigation water, where provided, may use a different system and be more reliant on pumps -- so if there is a widespread power outage that effects a pump station, there could be a short outage for the 30-60 seconds usually needed to start the backup generators, but there are also ways they may use to mitigate even that (and lessen normal pump wear) by using pressure tanks, fast-acting battery-based UPS systems, and such to smooth things out -- but in a power outage lawn irrigation isn't usually a very high priority so preventing a short outage may not be worth the investment.

The Villages also has a separate, quite complex, water management system for golf course watering and storm water management. Because that system is specifically designed to deal with severe weather events there would also be additional redundancy built into that system to deal with power or other possible outages like pump failures and blockages and such.

If you live in the Historic sector of The Villages and you have power supplied by Duke Energy, you may be subject to power outages due to the failure of needed equipment updates in this specific area. In the event of severe weather, including hurricanes, the Historic sector is usually the first area to lose power and the last to have it restored. Duke Energy is aware of this issue but has failed to correct it.

Had a house in Duval for 8 years with multiple TS, and remnants of passing hurricane. Hurricane flooding tunnels, and excessive water funneled to golf courses, as water management.
The pond across the street rose 15’, but never reached homes. Not a power loss in any storm.

We have had Seco at 5 homes in different villages since 2007. Only a few power blips of 2-3 minutes. You have Seco, between the 6’s, you are in good hands.

No issues with Seco power south of 44 since 2022.