{"id":18274,"date":"2025-02-12T13:24:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T18:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.wika.com\/us\/?p=18274"},"modified":"2025-11-12T13:25:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T18:25:36","slug":"pressure-getting-water-to-where-it-needs-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wika.com\/us\/applications\/pressure-getting-water-to-where-it-needs-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Pressure: Getting Water to Where It Needs to Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is a continuation of <\/em>Water Towers: Critical Assets for Quality of Life and Fire Safety<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Whether water is going to a storage tank or to consumers, it takes pressure to get it there. This pressure can come from pumps or water towers. When using the latter, the taller the structure is, the more water pressure is available.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>

Water tower with a 40′ head range and 100′
\nfrom top of foundation to low water level. (click to enlarge)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n \n

For every 1 psi, 2.31 feet of elevation is required. In other words, each foot of height provides 0.433 psi of head pressure. This is the static pressure \u201cpushing down.\u201d Only the tank\u2019s height, called the head range, matters for psi \/ feet of range calculations \u2013 not its diameter.<\/p>\n

Calculating psi \/ feet of range<\/h2>\n

Also called the altitude range, psi \/ feet of range is how the water and wastewater industry<\/a> refers to the available water pressure. The available pressure of any given water tower will vary according to how much water is currently in the tank. To calculate this head pressure, let\u2019s assume that our water tower has a tank with a 40′ head range and a 100′ support column. An empty water tower means that the water column is 100′, whereas a full water tower has a 140′ water column. Knowing that 1′ in elevation equals .433 psi, we can make the following calculations:
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>.433 psi x 100′ = 43.3 psi (empty)
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 .433 psi x 120′ = 51.96 psi (half full)
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 .433 psi x 140′ = 60.62 psi (full)<\/em><\/p>\n

So, this 140′ water tower has an altitude range of 43.3 psi at 0% capacity (empty) to 60.62 psi at 100% capacity (full). Municipal water supplies usually require 45 to 80 psi of head pressure, enough to reach about the sixth floor of a building. This is why skyscrapers and other tall buildings have their own elevated storage tanks and\/or pumps.<\/p>\n

Measuring Pressure, Level, and Temperature in Water Tower Applications<\/h2>\n

Weak water pressure means more than just unsatisfying showers. Appliances like washers and dishwashers require 20\u201330 psi for efficient operations. What\u2019s more, when the water in pipelines is sufficiently pressurized, it creates a barrier that prevents contaminants from entering. These are some of the critical points for pressure measurement in municipal water delivery systems:<\/p>\n