Hydrant
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Hydro-Guard Devices

In less developed areas of the County, you may come across hydrants that are out of service and have a device connected to them. (click on an image to see it full size)

     

The device on the left is designed to automatically flush the water main so that the water in the system remains fresh and chlorinated.  They are commonly used in areas where large mains haven't been fully utilized yet.  It will come on automatically to release water into the ground.  For it to work, the hydrant must remain on.  This is why the hydrants are marked as out of service.   More detailed information about this Hydro-Guard device is available here.

If practical, use another hydrant as your water source.

If you do need this hydrant, you may be able to use it by following these steps:

bulletWith a hydrant wrench, turn the hydrant off.
bulletSlowly remove a hydrant cap to release any pressure.
bulletConnect as usual to either the remaining 2 1/2" or Steamer
bulletThere is no need to disconnect the Hydro-Guard device.
bulletTurn the hydrant on as usual.

When you are finished with the hydrant:

bulletTurn off the hydrant.
bulletRemove all of your connections and replace all caps
bulletTurn the hydrant back on.
bulletVerify that there are no leaks

It is possible that the Hyrdo-Guard may start a flushing cycle while you're using this hydrant.  The water will start to flow out of the vents in the front and rear of the box.  This is no warning that a flush is about to start.  The water should flow into the ground.   Be aware that this will effect the flow you may need from the hydrant.   If you suspect you'll need the hydrant for a long period, you may want to dispatch Water and Sewer to disable the device.

Follow up: My research here was turned into a Training Zone message for the Fire Dept.  Very cool to see it posted where I know it will be read ;)

Except for portions owned by others, Copyright: Ray Vaughan, 2008

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