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Fire Hydrant Task Force Launched By Public Service Commision

The Public Service Commission (PSC) launched a task force to address antiquated and defective fire hydrants — like the three fire hydrants that failed to deliver water while a West Side, Charleston house burned down.

Updated on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 5:15 p.m.

The homeowner filed a lawsuit against water utility West Virginia American Water. The utility is arguing that it was not their responsibility to guarantee functioning fire hydrants.

A few months after the fire, the PSC launched an investigation into fire hydrants across the state. The investigation depended on utilities to report working fire hydrants. In October, Charlotte Lane, chair of the PSC, asked the West Virginia Legislature to grant the PSC regulatory power over the fire hydrants and asked for a fiscal note for testing.

What the commission got in the end was a bill creating a task force that brings stakeholders and experts to the table to make fire hydrants the responsibility of water utilities — officially.

“People hadn’t really focused on fire hydrants,” Lane said. “The incident on the West Side did bring it into focus and we determined that there was no clear cut law as to who was responsible.”

Lane said the task force will be made up of stakeholders like the West Virginia Rural Water Association, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, county commissioners and fire chiefs.

The task force will meet and discuss adopting national standards for fire hydrants in the state, and review and process rules for managing fire hydrants. Lane said that for fire hydrants, age is just a number, and that “float” testing will determine if the hydrants are adequately functioning.

“I think the magic is that the fire hydrants pass the inspection and the flow testing, and then no matter how old they are, if the water pressure is there, then the fire hydrant should be okay,” Lane said.

Safer fire hydrants could translate into higher water costs for some utilities customers.

“Seems to me that anything dealing with infrastructure today is very expensive,” Lane said. “But that’s one of the facts of life that we need to keep up on.”

She said that if water utilities do not have fire hydrant management and care built into their rates, or if new regulations result in the utilities investing money into hydrants, then it’s possible that utilities will raise rates.

“If that happens, we will scrutinize their numbers. And we will rule on whether or not increases are necessary,” Lane said.

Gov. Jim Justice signed the legislation into law Wednesday.

$70 Million Needed To Fix Fire Hydrants Over 10 Years

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has finalized a report on the status of fire hydrants throughout the state.

The regulatory agency found that there are nearly 50,000 hydrants, most operated by public utilities. It noted issues related to testing and replacement of the devices and recommended funding over a 10-year period to deal with problems.

According to the final report: “Engineering Staff also found that a significant percentage of the state’s nearly 50,000 hydrants are fifty-years of age or older and that the replacement cycle for fire hydrants is unsustainably long at almost three-quarters of a century. Across all water utilities there are more than 5,300 hydrants in need of prompt replacement, based on age alone. This includes more than 4,000 hydrants operated by non-profit utilities. The cost to replace these hydrants is significant.”

A May 2023 fire in Charleston brought the matter to the attention of the PSC when a house burned down after there was insufficient water pressure from two nearby fire hydrants.

On June 30, 2023, the commission opened a general investigation into the conditions of hydrants and ordered the Engineering Division to survey the entire state concerning fire hydrants in public and private domains.

The report revealed there are 49,906 fire hydrants in the state, with 95 percent operated by utilities and 5 percent in private hands. West Virginia-American Water had the largest number at 10,548, and the average number of hydrants per utility was 194.

The report said not enough utilities are testing the water flow through their systems and devices.

Five percent (1,917) of hydrants are installed on undersized lines that have a diameter of less than six inches, the report said.

It also said a number of the hydrants are aging and ought to be replaced on a faster cycle than is being done.

Eleven percent (4,015) of the fire hydrants are 50 years old or older. The Parkersburg Utility Board operates the oldest in the state at 138 years. But, many other water utilities reported having hydrants 100 years or older.

The report suggested the West Virginia Legislature appropriate $70 million to be used over a 10-year period to assist public utilities in replacing their aging hydrants.

The report said national testing standards should be added to the state rules. In addition, all water utilities operating fire hydrants should be required to certify in their annual report the number of hydrants inspected and the number of flow tests completed for the year.

More information on this case can be found on the PSC website: www.psc.state.wv.us. Click on “Case Information” and access Case No. 23-0555-W-GI.

Previous stories

PSC Investigating State’s Fire Hydrants

PSC Urges Legislators To Address Fire Hydrant Disrepair

Update: Legislators Hear Update On PSC Fire Hydrant Investigation

PSC Urges Legislators To Address Fire Hydrant Disrepair

Director of the Public Service Commission Charlotte Lane asked that the legislature give the PSC power to regulate fire hydrants in the state so that they comply with the National Fire Protection Association’s recommended practice.

Concern over fire hydrants in the state is on the rise as smaller water providers don’t have the ability to test them.

Director of the Public Service Commission Charlotte Lane asked the West Virginia Legislature during the Joint Standing Committee on Technology and Infrastructure for $7 million; $3 million would be used as grants to cover inspections and testing costs and $4 million would be used as low or no interest loans to water districts so they are able to finance repairs and replacements of fire hydrants.

“There are firms in West Virginia that will do flow testing, and they charge, like, $100 per fire hydrant,” Lane said. “We think that a lot of these small utilities won’t have the money to do the testing.”

Guidelines For Improvement

The Fire Protection Association recommends that hydrants be flow tested every 3-5 years, plus a yearly inspection. According to Lane, those tests are costly and would disproportionately hurt small utilities that have difficulty paying bills and providing potable water to customers.

She also asked that the legislature give the PSC power to regulate fire hydrants in the state so that they comply with the National Fire Protection Association’s recommended practice.

“We don’t promulgate rules without statutory authority. And so if we want to amend our water rules related to fire hydrants, I would request that we have statutory authority,” she said.

Tragedy Sparks Awareness

Awareness around fire hydrants in the state rose after a Charleston man’s house caught fire and multiple fire hydrants were not functioning. West Virginia has double the rate for deaths caused by fire than the rest of the country and is in the top five states for fire-related deaths.

Spouting The Numbers

The PSC asked every water district in the state to test their fire hydrants and fill out a detailed survey about their functionality. They ended up extending the survey from June 28 to Aug. 25 after many districts failed to fill out the survey in time. Currently, 90 percent of water districts have filled out reports with the PSC still waiting on 27 water districts.

The normal lifespan of a fire hydrant is around 50 years, Lane said. Nine in 10 fire hydrants are less than 50 years old. The oldest fire hydrant in the state is 138 years old.

It costs around $15,000 to completely replace a fire hydrant.

The majority of the state’s fire hydrants are utility owned, with around 5 percent being privately owned.

Questions And Caveats

Committee members questioned Lane if any of the repairs would qualify for federal funding, like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Lane said the PSC did not know.

Other members asked questions about the effect of struggling or deteriorating water systems on a new fire hydrant’s ability to function properly. Lane said that part of fixing a fire hydrant could be to remedy the water line that it connects to, which would raise the cost.

Lane said if the legislature follows the recommendations from the PSC the public will be able to be confident that they have functioning fire hydrants in case of a fire.