Fire hydrant task force in West Virginia proposes yearly inspection

KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) — A fire hydrant task force in West Virginia has released its proposal for rules regarding the operation and maintenance of hydrants, which includes them being checked at least once every year.

The group’s official duty is to, “recommend rules to govern operation and maintenance of fire hydrants.” The proposal has been sent to the executive secretary’s office and the Public Service Commission will then have the final say on the rules.

Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) requested a survey on the state’s fire hydrants after a fire burned down the historic home of Richard “Ric” Cavender in Edgewood due to the failure of nearby hydrants.

The Public Service Commission of West Virginia released the findings of their report in January around the time it was presented to the Legislature. According to the study, many of the 49,906 hydrants in operation needed to be replaced. The State Legislature proposed House Bill 5617 ; Gov. Justice signed this bill into law.

According to documents, the task force is asking for utilities to inspect hydrants at least once a year and to have a record of each public fire hydrant in their systems, which includes the inspection, maintenance and flow test reports, and logs of those flow tests.

The inspection has to be done yearly or after the utility is made aware of any damage that impacted the hydrant. There also needs to be location data, hydrant flushing, photos of the hydrants, and the service and repair of the out-of-service hydrants. The utility should also tell the local 911 center 24 hours in advance of any scheduled inspection.

There are also requirements for hydrant color coding and the frequency of flow testing, documents show.

If implemented, utilities have 12 months to complete the first inspection of the fire hydrants, according to documents, and 60 days to complete flow testing, which will then be tested on a five-year basis.

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