Queen Creek officials outline water redundancy and wildfire response strategy

Utilities Director Mark Skacepek and Fire Chief Vance Gray briefed the Town Council on Jan. 14 about Queen Creek’s water production capacity, redundancy measures and the fire department’s wildfire response strategy.

Skacepek said the town can produce about 56 million gallons per day from 30 wells, with another nine planned to add roughly 9 million gallons per day. He said system storage and booster pumps create the town’s operational flexibility and that the system is largely remotely controlled. Skacepek told council the town’s maximum instantaneous flow capacity is about 83 million gallons per day and that typical peak daily demand is roughly 52 million gallons; he described that difference as the town’s working redundancy to respond to emergencies.

Skacepek said the water system is looped so most areas receive multiple sources of supply, and he identified three…