Contact customer newsletter

Staying safe around electricity in your home

Electricity is vital to our everyday lives, but it can also pose potential risks due to faulty equipment and human error. To minimize hazards in your home, follow these tips:

Bathroom

• Remove any appliances around the sink or bathtub area.
• Always unplug appliances such as hair tools after you are finished using them and place them in a safe spot.
• Install ground fault circuit interrupters (inexpensive electrical devices commonly built into power outlets), which can protect against severe electrical shocks.

Kitchen

• Look for an Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label when buying appliances to confirm that they meet electrical safety standards.
• Always dry your hands completely before operating any appliance

Garage

• Always verify that you are using the correct extension cord. Most outdoor extension cords are three-pronged and have a thicker, more durable layer of protective insulation than two-pronged indoor cords. 
• Don’t connect multiple surge protectors or extension cords. Instead, use a cord that is long enough for your needs or switch to a closer outlet when possible.

General tips

• Know where your main electric switch is and how to turn it off.
• Always determine why a fuse has blown or a circuit breaker has tripped and eliminate the cause before correcting the issue.
• Childproof electrical outlets (especially those close to the ground) with outlet covers.

For more information on keeping your home safe, please visit srp.net/safehome (Opens in a new tab).

How water gets to our desert home

For more than 120 years, SRP has been providing a reliable water supply to the Valley. But have you ever wondered exactly where the water comes from? The majority of H2O in Greater Phoenix goes from forest to faucet in four stages:

1. Rain and snow fall in northern and eastern Arizona, eventually trickling through the 8.3 million acres of watersheds to the Salt and Verde rivers.
2. Melted snow flows through rivers into the seven reservoirs, or lakes, managed by SRP. The water is stored there until it's released through dams for irrigation and water delivery, with some dams also generating hydroelectric power.
3. Once it's released, the water travels through a canal system stretching more than 131 miles across the Valley to reach municipalities and irrigation customers. The canals branch off into smaller waterways called laterals that carry water directly to fields and neighborhoods.
4. Water delivered to cities is then treated to meet quality standards before it moves through underground pipes to reach the homes of Valley residents.

While the Valley also receives Colorado River water through the Central Arizona Project, more than half of the region’s water supply comes from the reservoir system and underground storage facilities SRP manages. For an in-depth look at our water’s journey through this great state, including an interactive map, please visit srp.net/water (Opens in a new tab). 

September is National Preparedness Month

National Preparedness Month is observed every September with the objective of raising awareness about — and preparing for — disasters and emergencies. You can find safety tips and recommendations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by visiting ready.gov/September (Opens in a new tab). 

• Establish a family plan and prepare “go bags” filled with essentials for everyone in advance.
• Sign up for SRP alerts that may impact your area at srp.net/outagealerts (Opens in a new tab).
• Familiarize yourself with home utilities and learn how to shut off water, power and gas. 
• Stockpile nonperishable food, medicine and water, setting aside enough to sustain your family for up to 72 hours. 
• Create an evacuation plan and discuss zones. 
• Consider mobile chargers and power banks for emergency electricity.

Quarterly M-Power Contact newsletter

Download the latest M-Power Contact newsletter to stay informed on SRP news.