The Towers

 On the way back from the Second City, I finally had time to research how water towers work.  Every time I pass a water tower, I'm like, what's going on with these structures that loom above me hither thither and yon?

  So here's the low down.  Water towers are filled with water.  The height of the tower holding this huge amount of water (think 50 swimming pools) helps with increasing water pressure if and when the citizenry might need some extra water pressure.

The pressure created by the weight of the water in the towers and reservoirs allows gravity to help the water easily move to all points in the city.

At low water use times, (think in the middle of the night), water is pumped back up in to the water tower.  In large cities, many tall buildings have water towers on their roofs to help with water pressure within the building.  Small plane pilots are aided by water towers as landmarks.

I obviously don't know all the ins and outs of these majestic entities, but I think I've given you the basics and all you'll probably ever need to know.  Let's appreciate water towers and pass on this information to others.  I was in the dark for over 50 years about water towers and that's a damn shame.