WP: Nearly 10 Percent Of Hydrants Don't Work, Union Says

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051702491.html

Nearly 10 Percent Of Hydrants Don't Work, Union Says
D.C. Firefighters Performing New Round of Inspections

By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 18, 2007; Page A01

A stepped-up inspection of D.C. fire hydrants is finding that nearly 10 percent don't work, fire union officials said yesterday.

Firefighters doing the testing said they think that more than 900 hydrants across the city are not in working order, posing a significant public safety risk.

The D.C. Water and Sewer Authority has greatly underestimated the severity of the problem, union leaders and other D.C. officials said. WASA, which is responsible for maintaining the city's 9,000 hydrants, has said it believes that less than 1 percent of them are out of service.

"Clearly, WASA has a much larger problem than what they realized," said Dan Dugan, president of the D.C. Firefighters Association.

The fire department's most recent round of tests began after a fire April 30 at the Georgetown public library. The two hydrants closest to the scene didn't work, and firefighters had to use other hydrants about two blocks away.

The tests from a sampling of hydrants across the city -- conducted May 7 through Tuesday -- found that 23 of 256 didn't work. The problems were found in neighborhoods across the city.

FULL three page story at link.