Comal County, Texas

Things aren't always what they seem to be. And that's how it is with what appear to be fire hydrants in unincorporated areas of Comal County.
County commissioners on Thursday were surprised to find that the metal objects that dot subdivisions in unincorporated county areas aren't really fire hydrants — and the state doesn't require rural water companies to provide them.
Precinct 2 Commissioner Jay Millikin on Thursday put photos of what appeared to be fire hydrants up on the screen in commissioners' court, and asked his fellow commissioners in turn what each item was.
Each commissioner, in turn, responded that they were fire hydrants.
And each was wrong.
Under state law, nonmunicipal water purveyors aren't required to provide fire hydrants.
But each water system requires something called a "flush valve" to clear sediment or remove trapped air from water lines.
And, you guessed it, most models of flush valves look exactly like fire hydrants.
The issue came up in August when Apex Water Services president David Wallace sent letters to the rural fire departments in Bulverde and Spring Branch warning them that a number of subdivisions it serves through the Diamond Water Co. and Water Services Inc. don't really have hydrants.
The problem is a big one for rural firefighters who must truck water around with them — a problem that soon could cost the Bulverde Volunteer Fire Department a quarter-million dollars for a new, 3,000-gallon tanker truck the department is considering purchasing.
Affected subdivisions include Rimrock Ranch, Windmill Ranch/Kestral Airpark and Oak Village North.
"(Texas Commission on Environment Quality) public drinking water rules require that the systems have appropriate valving to allow the water mains to be flushed under conditions prescribed by those rules," Wallace wrote. "In some of the subdivisions, our metal flush valves resemble and are often confused with the typical metal fire hydrant installed by municipal water systems for fire fighting."
Wallace warned the fire chiefs in the Aug. 9 letter that they could use the water only on condition that they understood Apex made no promise it would be provided in pressures that support firefighting — and that the fire department would be liable for any damage to the water system caused by use of a flush valve for firefighting.
"It is important that the fire departments fully understand these conditions ... because the untrained or inexperienced operation of a water system valve can damage expensive service pumps and water mains through uncontrolled pressure changes," Wallace wrote.
Bulverde Fire Chief Charlie Ivy said his department would not risk the liability of using the flush valves — even though they have in the past and routinely tested them for Apex and other water purveyors.
"Really, we can't use any of those hydrants," Ivy said. "He said we could use them to fill our trucks. If we do and they're messed up, we have to pay for whatever damage was done that they say we did. My board said, 'Well, it's best we don't use these hydrants right now.'"
The question came up after his department tested some hydrants that didn't work. They bagged them and notified Apex, Ivy said.
"He said, 'They're not hydrants; they're flush valves,'" Ivy said. "It's a bad deal all the way around for the homeowners because they might think they have a hydrant in front of their house, and we can't use it. That's irritating to the public."
Ivy said Apex and other rural water companies should notify the public that the flush valves are not for fire suppression.
"People need to know about this," Ivy said. "Some folks bought lots with the hydrant right there, thinking they'd have better insurance rates. At least put signs up going into subdivisions that these hydrants are not for fire suppression."
That's Millikin's concern — that residents who think they live near fire hydrants don't realize that they don't, and that the fire department might not be able to hook into the flush valve at all.
"I don't want residents in this county thinking they're protected by a fire hydrant when, in fact, they're flush valves and the water company won't let the fire department draw water from what looks like a fire hydrant," Millikin said.
Apex attorney Mark Zeppa said customers of rural water companies sign a statement of service agreement that lists the limitations of the system, including for fire protection.
"If it's not inside a city, the odds are 9-to-1 that it's not a fire hydrant," Zeppa said. "You can pump water through it, but does it meet the state criteria for fire flows? No."
To get that kind of flow in a rural system would increase its cost three or four times, Zeppa said.
"That really affects rates," he said.

Article courtesy of Herald-Zeitung, by Ron Malony

CONTACT: Commissioner Jay Millikin
ph: (830) 221-1100
E-Mail

Home I Comprehensive Main Page I Departments I Services I Phone Book I Notices I Contact Us I Map