Project Profiles: Hydrant Management
A new replacement hydrant can cost more than 20 times the cost of simply servicing an existing hydrant and strategically replacing any defective components.
A new replacement hydrant can cost more than 20 times the cost of simply servicing an existing hydrant and strategically replacing any defective components.
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DC Water's Fire Hydrant Upgrade Program The water distribution system of Washington, D.C. includes pipelines and infrastructure assets dating back 150 years to President Abraham Lincoln's administration of the 1860s. Today, the District of Columbia's water distribution system serves 600,000 residents, 700,000 commuting workers, and 16.6 million annual visitors to the nation's capital. Local water utility DC Water provides retail water and wastewater service to the region, with water distribution assets that include approximately 1,300 miles of water pipes, 1,800 miles of sewer lines, 36,000 pipeline valves, and 9,300 public fire hydrants. |
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| In the Northeast, a utility has been working with Wachs Water Services on a multi-phase program designed to enhance the operation of their water network. Phase1 involved condition assessment of valves and hydrants, GIS asset information capture and integration, Phase 2 involved repair/rehabilitation and hydraulic modeling, and the current phase is a unidirectional hydrant flushing program based on an accurate hydraulic model which incorporates actual asset information vs assumptions. To demonstrate the importance of actual asset information, valve and hydrant operability was increased from an initial operability of only 36% to over 93% under this program, which would have made an effective UDF program nearly impossible to execute using standard industry assumptions. The utility is also collecting pre and post flushing water quality samples, C-factor and M17 data points to demonstrate their achievements to City councilors. |  |
| Wachs Water Services provided comprehensive fire hydrant and isolation valve assessment services to the Knoxville Utilities Board to help improve sustainability of their water distribution system. The program included hydrant and isolation valve assessments, inspection, flow testing, painting of the fire hydrants based on GPM, and all major and minor hydrant repairs. Fire hydrants in school zones are assessed each year to help ensure the protection of the students and buildings. |  |
| Wachs Water Services is currently executing a comprehensive water main valve and fire hydrant evaluation, improvement and information program in the City of Fort Lauderdale. The program involves evaluating, testing, GPS mapping and documenting 16,000 large/small valves and over 5,000 fire hydrants. Field data is collected, verified and integrated into both water GIS and Hansen systems. |  |
| Wachs Water Services completed a comprehensive valve and fire hydrant assessment program in the City of Melbourne in conjunction with the execution of a Unidirectional Water Main Flushing Program. Wachs Water Services assessed, evaluated, tested, rehabilitated and documented operability on over 5,000 valves and nearly 2,500 hydrants utilized in Melbourne's unidirectional flushing program as well as executing the unidirectional flushing sequences for approximately 340 zones of the water distribution system. The utility experienced a 78 percent reduction in water quality complaints as a direct result of this program. |  |
Wachs Water Services is the leading provider of water distribution system asset management solutions that significantly improve efficiency and network control. Our specialized approach combines condition assessment and rehabilitation services for valves, hydrants and water mains with the capture and integration of critical water asset GIS information. We provide the expertise, equipment and personnel to locate, assess, operate and document virtually any water asset.
