TWW begins inspecting and testing fire hydrants system-wide
TRENTON >> Next month, Trenton Water Works will begin inspecting and testing 3,517 fire hydrants in its five-municipality water distribution system, a standard procedure that is conducted annually.
“An integral part of our mission is to ensure that hydrants are operational and able to provide effective fire protection,” said Dr. Shing-Fu Hsueh, Director of the city’s Department of Water and Sewer, which operates the 200-year-old Trenton Water Works that serves 63,000 customers and 225,000 residents in Trenton, parts of Hamilton, Ewing, Lawrence and Hopewell Townships. “We will assess hydrant performance and collect hydraulic data to advise our 2020 Water-Main Cleaning and Lining Project, a capital project that will improve pressure in our system, increase water flow and ensure overall water-distribution-system reliability.”
Hydrants are used to fight fires, and their flow in gallons per minute (GPM) varies. A fire hydrant is typically connected to a six-inch water main that runs below the street or sidewalk. Firefighters operate the hydrant by removing the nozzle cap, attaching a fire hose to the nozzle and turning the operating stem to begin the flow of water. For adequate fire-fighting capacity, water flow can range from 500 to 775 gallons per minute.
The TWW system includes fire hydrants from nine different manufacturers. There are 1,299 hydrants in Trenton, 1,108 in Hamilton Township, 625 in Ewing, 171 in Hopewell and 314 in Lawrence Township. With special permit approval from Trenton Water Works, hydrants can also be used as temporary sources of water. TWW’s inspections will assess the proper operation of a hydrant’s moving parts, adequate water flow and identification, information that is then uploaded to a GIS mapping system, operated by TWW’s engineering department.
TWW’s fire hydrant inspection will continue through fall 2019.
Trenton Water Works is among the largest publicly owned, urban water utilities in the United States. It supplies an average of 27 million gallons of Delaware River sourced drinking water per day to 63,000 metered customers. It services approximately 225,000 people in Trenton, parts of Hamilton Township, Ewing Township, Lawrence Township and Hopewell Township in Mercer County, New Jersey. Established more than 200 years ago, TWW operates a 60-million-gallon water filtration plant and waterdistribution system that includes a 100-million-gallon reservoir. TWW’s system has 683 miles of water mains varying in size from 4 to 48 inches in diameter, three pump stations, and six interconnections between TW Wand other water suppliers.