Pure Tap Proud to Keep Derby Season Flowing

“Water’s pretty important,” said Plumber Leader’s Assistant Brad Frans.

And you probably don’t realize just how much water plays a role in all the festivities leading up to the main event in May – the Kentucky Derby!

You’ve likely heard the phrase, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint”. Appropriate words considering thousands of runners just raced through the city over the weekend in the Kentucky Derby Festival’s 5K, mini, and MARATHON races.

Louisville Water’s work started long before volunteers poured cups of Louisville Pure Tap®. Employees inspected every water stop, checked the water pressure and water quality, and sanitized hoses.

Then before the sun came up on race day, a designated crew drove the route to set up each hydration station for ‘go time’. It was the first time for Maintenance Truck Driver Ricky Oller.

“I ran the marathon a couple years ago,” he shared. But it was a different pace on Saturday as they raced from stop to stop.

“Learning how to do all these… I’ve always wanted to see how it’s done,” Oller said, admitting he didn’t realize how much goes on behind the scenes to pull it off.

Plumber Leader Chris Meeks knows exactly what it takes, losing count of how many years he’s been involved with the undertaking.

“I’m proud of the company and all the work we do. We take pride in providing Louisville Pure Tap® to keep the runners hydrated throughout the race,” Meeks said. “It puts our brand out there.”

While the mini/MARATHON is Louisville Water’s main event in terms of visibility, our Derby checklist actually stretches several pages long.

“We check every large meter and every small meter to make sure they’re working soundly and that water’s going through so we’re not going to have any issues for Derby,” said Metering Plumber Leader Katie Cooper.

It’s not Cooper’s first lap around Churchill.

“This is my sixth Derby prep,” she said, sharing how she hit a new stride this year with the assignment.

“I color coded the endpoints and the register numbers (on my checklist). Now with AMI (advanced metering infrastructure), we have so many numbers. I took a day and wrote all of that out so I can make sure that every single one is correct when we go to it.”

One by one, Cooper and Plumber Leader’s Assistant Jason Hutchinson crossed off their list.

Hutchinson said it’s all “To make sure the Backside and everybody has the pressure and water to hose down the horses and everything after the races. That’s probably one of the biggest things that they do here.”

Meanwhile, Brad Frans and Plumber Leader Scott Corbin made their own rounds flushing fire hydrants.

“We go from the outside of the perimeter and work our way toward Churchill Downs,” Corbin explained. “We check the hydrant gates to make sure they’ve got enough pressure. We’re checking to make sure that everybody around the neighborhoods have normal water pressure, and we are also making sure that the lines are clean and clear of any debris.”

As Churchill Downs gears up to welcome more than a hundred thousand guests over the next several days, cross-connection specialists Angie Schaftlein and Bob Gillon checked water pressure inside the track and the equine hospital, in addition to inspecting backflow devices.

“Along with the inspections, we collect water samples to verify water quality and ensure safe drinking water for the athletes and the thousands of visitors attending the events at Churchill Downs.”

Frans said, “There’s a lot more to it than people think. With the Derby being such a big event, I get to be a very small part of the success.”

The Derby is far more than a two-minute horse race. It’s Louisville’s time to shine, and Louisville Water is Pure Tap Proud to keep the water flowing at the track, in the surrounding neighborhoods, and at every event that fills your cup and Derby spirit!