Page 282 - Water Loss Control

Contr olling Appar ent Losses—Unauthorized Consumption 251

FIGURE 15.1 Unauthorized fi re hydrant openings waste water and pose a security threat.
(Source: Philadelphia Water Department.)

• Water taken from fire hydrants is often unmetered. The more numerous the
openings of hydrants, the greater the amount of water that must be metered or
estimated to quantify this consumption in the water audit.
• Water taken continuously from fire hydrants should include backflow protection
to prevent contaminants from entering the distribution system during a negative
pressure event. Often no backflow protection is used.
• Water drawn from a fire hydrant could pose a health risk if used for human
consumption since water quality degradation can occur as the water passes
through the barrel of the hydrant.
• Cooling off from the spray of a fire hydrant is a significant safety risk as fire
hydrants are usually configured to face the street, placing the public (often
children) in the roadway to compete with traffic while being pushed by water
under high pressure.
• Widespread unauthorized openings of fire hydrants can result in greatly
reduced pressure in the distribution system, crippling firefighting capability
and greatly increasing the risk of backflow contamination.