[DUMBGRUNT]

A Manhattan handyman opened a fire hydrant so people could collect water to flush toilets.

The fire hydrants are a different system from domestic water?

How does that work?

[PA Engineer]

How does that work?

One possibility is the lines are the low level of the system. Many apartment high rise buildings require pumps to get the water to the roof tanks. No electricity and then no water.

[Woodman]

Skyscrapers and other tall buildings need to lift their water to the higher floors. Older buildings have water tanks on their roofs which are filled gradually and then used to maintain pressure. Since there is no electricity, I imagine there is not much water pressure above the first few stories.

[Kartographer]

City water pressure will not push water above about the sith floor. So high rise buildings use electric pump to pump water up to a reservoir on the roof that feeds water to the whole build. With the pumps off because there’s no power once the reservoir empties there no water in the building.