Pocatello Water Department Responsibilities

Billing

The Water Department is not responsible for water billing. All water bill questions as well as all other city utility questions should be directed to the Utility Billing Department.

Plumbing Crews

The primary responsibility of the plumbing crews is to respond to customer service calls as they are received by the Water Department Dispatcher. The crews also detect and repair fire hydrant and service line leaks, install and repair water meters, mark the locations of mains and services in anticipation of underground construction, and assist in the annual flushing program and valve maintenance program.

Pump, Purification & Storage Crew

The Pump, Purification and Storage Crew is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the City's water supply wells, booster pumping stations, storage tanks and pressure reducing valves. They are charged with visiting each facility 1 time per day and performing routine maintenance and repairs as needed.

The crew also pulls deep well pumps and motors for inspection and repair using in-house expertise. In addition, the crew takes all water quality samples to make sure the water that the Water Department delivers to its customers is safe to drink and meets all federal, state and local drinking water requirements.

Transmission & Distribution

The Water Department has an aggressive and ongoing main replacement program that is performed in-house by the Transmission and Distribution (T and D) crews. Approximately 1/2 of the water distribution mains in Pocatello are over 50 years old and are made primarily of cast iron and steel pipe. The water industry considers 50 years as the useful life of water pipe, especially these types of pipe.

The T and D crews replace existing mains by installing new mains parallel to the existing mains, connecting existing services to the new mains and abandoning the old mains in place. The T and D crews work closely with the Street Department to coordinate pavement restoration after the new mains are installed, tested and placed into service. In addition to main replacements, the T and D crews repair leaks and assist in carrying out the annual flushing program and valve maintenance program.