2017/07/01 by Kenneth L. Mercer, T.N. Hooper
paper · doi:10.1002/j.1551-8833.2017.tb00044.x
crossref issued 2017/07/01 · crossref published 2017/07/01 · crossref published-online 2017/07/01 · crossref published-print 2017/07/01 · crossref created 2018/04/06 · crossref deposited 2023/08/28 · crossref indexed 2026/07/29
Similar to the public's understanding in 1916, the general public of today still does not appreciate the role that fire protection plays in the distribution of safe drinking water. T.N. Hooper's 1916 Journal AWWA paper highlights this unfortunate truth from a century ago, but it also does a masterful job at describing the evolution of a community's water works as it grows. Add 100 years of use and change to an already complex, variable, and active system, and it should be easy to understand the challenges that face those who manage and operate water distribution systems. Finally, Hooper's paper underscores the need for utilities to maintain working relationships with fire departments in their service areas, and in the era of big data, it seems likely that information shared between the two can help utilities better understand pressure and flow variations in their distribution system and potentially anticipate impacts on customers in affected areas.