Penn Soil RC&D Council
RC&D : "The Catalyst for Community Improvement"

Dry Hydrant Concept

A dry hydrant is a non-pressurized pipe system permanently installed in existing lakes, ponds, and streams that provides means of suction supply of water to the tank truck. The concept is not new. Many fire departments have successfully used dry hydrants for a number of years, although its use is not wide spread.

    In many rural areas, a lack of water mains and domestic fire hydrants can sometimes impair a fire department's ability to do its job quickly and efficiently. Tanker trucks must be used to carry large amounts of water to the fire scene.  The success of the operation hinges on the distance the trucks must travel to water "fill-up" points around the county.  Unfortunately, the fill-up points are often a long distance from the fire and fire-fighters are unable to retain an uninterrupted water supply at the scene in many cases.

    Some counties have begun to take advantage of "natural water sources" for fire-fighting. Most areas have a number of privately owned ponds, lakes, and streams that could be used, with permission, as fill-up points.

    The installation of a non-pressurized pipe system into these water sources provides a ready means of a suction-supply of water to tank trucks. The dry hydrant system gives the trucks access to the ponds and streams from the main road. As in the drawing, one end of the dry hydrant sticks out of the ground to give tankers a hose connection, and the other end is a strainer submerged in the pond or stream to draw water directly through the system.

Benefits

    A properly installed dry hydrant allows natural, unprocessed water to be used for road maintenance and fire protection. This allows small towns to better use its limited water storage for drinking water. A well planned and designed dry hydrant water delivery system can improve fire fighting capability of rural fire departments, save fuel and reduce the cost of operations.

    An additional benefit to citizens where dry hydrants have been properly used is in the reduction of the fire classification for fire insurance. For example, when the Forsyth County, Georgia volunteer fire department, with proper training and equipment, used the dry hydrant water delivery system, county homeowners saw their insurance rates drop by 49 percent. For an $85,000 home, this means $200 savings per year on homeowner's insurance.

    Water is a key ingredient for proper road maintenance. Research has shown that an automobile traveling on a well-compacted gravel road, as opposed to a loose road surface, will use 11 to 12 percent less fuel.

Improve Fire Protection

    The recommended distance between dry hydrants is one every three square miles. This would ensure that fire tankers would travel no more than three miles to a fill-up point. And since the fill-up through the system usually takes about two minutes to complete, there could be an uninterrupted water supply and better fire control.

Lower Insurance Rates

    Fire insurance premiums for each area are based on a classification by the Insurance Service Organization (ISO).  The classification depends on each area's ability to fight fires.

    Areas with no fire departments are given a Class 10 rating. As the firefighting capability increases, the rating decreases. This can be accomplished through higher training levels, better equipment, etc. If a fire department can demonstrate the ability to keep 250 gallons of water per minute for two hours at a fire scene, the area's fire rating could potentially decrease to a six or seven. The ISO, however, makes the final determination regarding the rate.

    With a dry hydrant system, this goal can be easily achieved. A fire rating decrease from a nine to a seven can often reduce insurance rates by 45 to 50 percent.

Conserve Treated Water Supply

    Dry hydrants are installed in untreated water supplies, which means that fire departments do not have to use the treated water from towns in the county. As water becomes more scarce, the treated water would be available to the citizens for drinking.

Conserve Energy

Since tanker trucks have less travel time between fill-up points, they would save fuel. The overall operating costs of the fire department would be lessened by the use of dry hydrants.
 

Promote Economic Development