Wednesday, June 11, 2008

If You See an Open Hydrant, Report It

The following announcement tells you how-

Open Fire Hydrants Cause Water Pressure and Safety Issues

WASA joins the District Fire Department in issuing a public safety alert.

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) and the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services are reporting low water pressure in some neighborhoods due to unauthorized opening of fire hydrants by residents seeking relief from the heat.

The public is reminded that unauthorized use of hydrants is illegal. Such activity will cause low water pressure and service problems for customers and can damage the underground water infrastructure. Loss of adequate water pressure can have a negative impact on fire fighting when firefighters are unable to get enough water to suppress fires. Opening hydrants also poses a safety issue for young children who could easily be hurt from the high water pressure.

Over the last three days, most of the 20-plus locations of reported open hydrants have been in Southeast Washington. Other locations identified were in the southwest and northeast areas of the District. WASA has had to bring in additional crews to respond to low pressure problems caused by hydrant openings. The public is urged to report open hydrants by calling the WASA 24-hour emergency line at (202) 612-3400.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very good point, Inked. High temps combined with roofers torching roofs leads to an increase in the number of structure fires in the summertime. You would hate to have one one your block and have no water source with which to put it out.

Anonymous said...

i vehemently concur.

Anonymous said...

Wow, nobody blamed the police for this? Amazing. Surely once everyone gets off work they can figure out some way to blame the MPD.

Anonymous said...

Actually, as I walked home from work yesterday I watched an MPD cruiser slow down, stop, and observe the open-hydrant fiesta going on at 13th & K SE.

And then they drove off...

Anonymous said...

dc cops are crap. thank goodness! otherwise, i'd have spent close to $2k in this year alone for violations.

but i'm a good guy, so they *should* leave me alone.

why can't they go after the bad guys?

maybe because the bad guys are married to their sister's cousin? or because they did the same kinds of stuff when they were kids growing up in a lawless dc?

sort of likely.

they all want the big collars, but even those are beyond their reach.

maybe there should be some kind of education program for cops.....

they suck.