Taupo district fire hydrants to be tested

MEDIA RELEASE

5 February 2010 

Comprehensive flow testing will be carried out on urban fire hydrants throughout the Taupo District during February 2010 to ensure adequacy of water supply.

This involves inspection of fire hydrants and testing for volume and pressure of the water mains in accordance with the “NZ Fire Service Firefighting Water Supplies Code of Practice”.  This exercise is part of asset management strategy planning to ensure fire fighting water supplies are adequate. 

Infrastructure Services Group Manager Ted Anderson says, “we need to test the volume and pressure of our water mains and ensure our fire hydrants are up to code and able to cope in an emergency.  If testing identifies any areas that need improvement we will include this in our asset management planning and address it accordingly.” 

He says “testing will take around five to ten minutes per hydrant and some households may experience a slight drop in water pressure during the testing, but pressure will return to normal very quickly.”  Testing will take place during early mornings and in the late afternoon or early evening. 

There are just under 2,000 fire hydrants currently documented in the Taupo district, and Council will update their records as the testing proceeds.  It is proposed to test over 100 hydrants throughout the district during February.

Contact:
Ted Anderson
Group Manager – Infrastructure Services
Taupo District Council
Ph 07 376 0899