When tourist season hits, the pressure on water utilities multiplies fast. Small towns swell into busy hubs. Campgrounds fill, restaurants overflow, and water systems—often designed for normal usage—face peak demand and infrastructure stress.
For Public Utility Directors, preparing for this seasonal surge isn’t optional. It’s a mission-critical task. And success depends on how well your utility can balance rising demand with operational reliability, safety, and regulatory compliance.
At Flo-Trace, we’ve worked alongside water utilities facing everything from unexpected demand spikes to aging infrastructure failures. Here’s what we’ve learned about getting ahead of the summer wave.
Know What You’re Up Against: Seasonal Demand Can Overwhelm Aging Systems
Many tourist-heavy communities operate on water systems originally designed for smaller, year-round populations. When thousands of extra visitors arrive, even briefly, the strain is immediate:
- Water main pressure dips
- Lift stations struggle to keep up
- Hydrants become critical during wildfire risk
- SCADA alerts spike with usage anomalies
If you’ve seen these issues before, now’s the time to act. And if you haven’t yet? This summer might be your stress test.
Start with Data: Demand Forecasting Is Key
Before you can prepare, you need a clear view of what’s coming. Use historical usage patterns, weather trends, and local tourism projections to forecast peak demand periods.
Flo-Trace’s approach includes smart monitoring tools and data analysis to give you insights into where pressure drops or surges are likely. The earlier you understand those pinch points, the better you can reinforce them—before failure occurs.
Partnering with local event planners, visitor bureaus, and parks departments can also help utilities anticipate crowd surges that don’t always show up on city planning calendars.
Get Hydrants and Valves Summer-Ready
Hydrants are critical infrastructure during summer—not just for fire response, but also for flushing, testing, and water quality control. Yet too often, hydrants and valves are neglected until they fail.
Flo-Trace offers full hydrant exercising, flow testing, and GPS mapping to help you:
- Identify inoperable units
- Prioritize maintenance
- Plan replacements strategically
- Ensure accurate asset records
Regular exercising prevents stuck valves, improves fire readiness, and helps avoid emergency shutdowns. During peak tourist season, that kind of reliability is everything.
Inspect and Monitor Lift Stations Proactively
Lift stations often become the weak link during tourist season. Higher water use and inflow lead to more wastewater generation, and the added load can push older or poorly maintained lift stations over the edge.
Before summer arrives, inspect and service every station. Focus on:
- Pump operation and alarms
- Overflow protection
- Backup power testing
- SCADA calibration
Need help planning it all? Flo-Trace provides comprehensive assessments so you can prioritize repairs and avoid surprises.
Update and Organize Your Water Asset Inventory
Your asset data is your best defense against unexpected failures. Knowing where your critical valves, hydrants, and connections are—and what condition they’re in—can save hours in emergency response time.
If your utility is still using outdated paper maps or incomplete spreadsheets, now is the time to upgrade. Flo-Trace’s asset management tools can help you digitize, centralize, and make your system data usable in the field and in the office.
When the heat is on, clear records mean faster fixes.
Prepare for Fire Season with Water System Readiness
Many tourist areas are also wildfire-prone, especially in Texas, California, and the western U.S. And during dry, windy months, hydrants become essential tools—not afterthoughts.
We recommend:
- Annual fire flow testing
- Hydrant repainting for visibility
- Valve checks along wildfire-prone routes
- Ensuring hydrant access is clear of brush or obstacles
In addition, working with fire departments to map reliable hydrants and plan water access routes can save precious time when minutes matter most.
Train Staff and Communicate with Visitors
Tourist season often brings new challenges, especially for field staff. Make sure teams are trained on summer-specific tasks:
- Hydrant flushing and operation
- Lift station monitoring
- Valve shut-off procedures
- Emergency communication protocols
And don’t forget about public outreach. Use signage, websites, and social media to encourage water conservation and help tourists understand the local water supply limitations. Clear communication reduces complaints and builds community support.
Use the Off-Season to Plan Long-Term Solutions
After the rush, take stock. What failed? What worked? Which parts of your system felt the most stress?
Flo-Trace helps utilities build long-term capital improvement plans based on real-world data. Our team can help you identify aging assets, prioritize replacements, and ensure that your infrastructure grows alongside your community.
Tourism isn’t going away. Your utility’s approach to it should evolve too.
Final Thoughts: Turn Tourist Season Into a Utility Success Story
Tourist season is challenging, but it’s also an opportunity. With proactive planning, reliable infrastructure, and accurate system data, your water utility can shine when it matters most.
Whether you’re servicing a mountain town, beach community, or lakeside getaway, make summer your strongest season yet.