During this heat wave, we all try to find ways to cool off, but opening a fire hydrant to play in the water or to get a drink as shown in a photograph in Thursday’s edition of the New Haven Register (page A-11) should not be one of them. Opening a fire hydrant may look like a good way to cool off, but what looks like fun could become a matter of life and death. Opening fire hydrants can lower water pressure so firefighters don’t have enough water to put out a fire. The force of water gushing out of an open hydrant can push you in front of a passing car. Plus, opening fire hydrants to cool off is illegal.
Open hydrants can stir up sediment in the pipes and cause cloudy water for you and your neighbors. If enough hydrants are opened at the same time, a backflow can result, siphoning liquids from factories, swimming pools or other sources and contaminating your drinking water.
For safety’s sake, please don’t open any fire hydrants.
Kate Powell
Communications and Outreach Manager
South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority
New Haven