The 'Big Flush' during the Super Bowl causes a massive, synchronized drop in city water pressure.

The phenomenon known as the 'Big Flush' is a documented event in urban engineering where water usage spikes dramatically during televised events. On February 3, 2013, during Super Bowl XLVII, the city of Edmonton, Canada, recorded a massive drop in water pressure immediately following the halftime show. Public utility officials noted that water consumption surged by millions of liters within a few minutes as fans rushed to the bathroom.This behavior creates a unique challenge for municipal water treatment plants and pumping stations. In New York City, the Department of Environmental Protection monitors these events closely to prevent damage to the aging infrastructure. When millions of toilets flush at once, the sudden movement of water through the pipes can cause 'water hammer,' a pressure surge that leads to audible vibrations and potential pipe bursts.Data from the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities shows that water demand can fluctuate by over 10% during the Super Bowl's most critical moments. Engineers must manually adjust pump speeds and reservoir levels to compensate for these predictable surges. While modern systems are better equipped to handle the load, the 'Big Flush' remains a classic example of human behavior impacting physical engineering systems on a massive scale.