PSC staff memo: Utilities have 'moral obligation' to inspect, test and maintain fire hydrants

“[I]t is an unacceptable situation which must be corrected,� warned a state Public Service Commission staff memorandum filed with the agency Thursday.

The memorandum reported the results of an investigation the PSC ordered in June into the maintenance and testing of nearly 50,000 fire hydrants operated in West Virginia. In the filing, PSC engineering and legal staff recommended funding — estimated to cost $70 million — be provided for a statewide hydrant replacement grant program for nonprofit water utilities.

The staff memo also recommended amending state code governing water utilities to address hydrant inspection and testing, finding that state rules and regulations don’t require annual inspection or periodic flow testing in accordance with national standards.

Many utilities don’t regularly flow test hydrants

The three-member PSC’s June order required water utilities to detail the number, age, operational status and oversight of fire hydrants. The investigation followed ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä firefighters reporting insufficient flow at three hydrants on the West Side during a May house fire that left a dog dead.

West Virginia American Water said in May the three hydrants were rendered out of service after an investigation alongside the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Fire Department.

The state’s largest investor-owned utility reported to the PSC that 12% of the 10,548 public fire protection hydrants it owns are more than 50 years old, one percentage point higher than the PSC-reported state average.

Based on responses from 256 water utilities, PSC staff found only two-thirds of hydrants are inspected every year and stressed that all hydrants should be inspected annually. PSC staff reported 11% of hydrants statewide are older than 50 years, the age at which staff determined hydrants should be replaced.

Just 68% of utilities regularly flow test hydrants, something staff said should be performed on all hydrants.

Only 42% of utilities indicated they have a written procedure for hydrant maintenance, which includes inspection, according to PSC staff, which noted that “anything less than 100% is not acceptable.�

PSC staff found the state’s fire hydrant replacement cycle is “unsustainably long� at 70 years, far exceeding the recommended lifespan.

Need for more fire hydrant regulations

PSC staff engineer Jonathan Fowler told state lawmakers at an August Joint Standing Technology and Infrastructure Committee meeting that the PSC doesn’t have its own regulations for fire hydrant practices.

State code requires utilities to keep records indicating the location, size and capacity of fire hydrants and other water delivery infrastructure like transmission and distribution lines.

But the PSC staff memo says the agency should revise testing and inspection standards to meet recommendations set by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association.

The memo also recommended all water utilities operating fire hydrants should be required to report and certify in their annual reports to the PSC the number of fire hydrants inspected and the number of fire hydrant flow tests completed.

The staff memo concluded the PSC is the “logical entity� to promulgate regulations for fire hydrant practices because of its jurisdiction over water utilities.

$70M program envisioned for hydrant replacement

The memo noted that few utilities “bothered to� attach comments regarding their hydrant concerns and that those that did cited common issues like hydrant age, traffic damage to hydrants, unacceptable pressure (both high and low), historically poor maintenance of hydrants, and a lack of manpower and funds.

In Thursday’s memo, PSC staff predicted the costs of replacing hydrants would “place a large financial burden on smaller utilities,� many of which can’t afford to spend more on hydrants without substantial rate hikes.

The staff memo said such a burden would be in store for nonprofit utilities with smaller customer bases and limited access to capital for investment especially. Accordingly, they suggested it would be “advantageous� to set up a Legislature-appropriated hydrant replacement grant program.

The program would be administered and disbursed by the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council. The council has been a state clearinghouse for water and wastewater project funding.

The PSC staff predicted the $70 million in funding it suggested for its proposed program would need to be spread across fiscal years to be manageable. The staff floated the possibility of spreading the $70 million over 10 years to provide $7 million annually.

Costs for inspecting all a utility’s fire hydrants and preparing a report documenting the condition of all hydrants would be a project-eligible expense, according to the report.

‘Moral obligation’ to ensure hydrants work

Mandatory hydrant inspection and flow testing programs, combined with increased hydrant replacement, would improve public safety, water system operations and firefighting capabilities while lowering fire insurance premiums, according to the memo.

Greater hydrant reliability would be an asset to West Virginia’s especially high concentration of volunteer fire departments. Roughly 91% of West Virginia fire departments are registered as volunteer, well above the national 70% average, according to United States Fire Administration data for 2023.

The memo highlighted a passage from a fire hydrant maintenance and testing manual by the American Water Works Association, an international group of water supply professionals, that says hydrant owners have a “moral obligation to see that adequate fire flow can be delivered from every hydrant.�

The memo’s author noted the term “moral obligation� seldom is used in an engineering standard.

“Public water utilities have a moral obligation to maintain fire hydrants under their control,� the memo says.