Beginning April 1st, the Plainview Fire Department will begin flow-testing the fire hydrants located within the City Limits of Plainview.
Spring is the optimum time to perform these tests as water demand is less than summer and the threat of freezing water on our roadways should be eliminated.
These flow checks are beneficial to our citizens in multiple ways.
Some of the most important benefits include:
- Allows the Fire Department to color code hydrants based on the amount of water that is available from an individual hydrant. This allows our firefighters to determine if the closest hydrant is capable of flowing sufficient amounts of water to extinguish a fire at a given location.
- Allows “flushing” of debris and sediment from the water system. By flushing the hydrants, the sediment and debris is removed increasing water quality and reducing of the chances that this debris or sediment will cause damage to our fire engines.
- Allows our Fire and Water Departments to locate any problems associated with our water distribution system.
“The process of flow-testing the hydrants will normally take several weeks since there are over 700 fire hydrants within our City Limits.” Fire Chief Rusty Powers said. “It is our goal to have the flow testing completed by the end of May.”
The City of Plainview greatly appreciates your understanding while staff completes these flow tests. If anyone has any questions, please contact Fire Chief Rusty Powers at 806-296-1170
(News release from the City of Plainview)