EPA rules against fire hydrants

[DrLeftover]

Nov 14, 2013 11:01 PM CT

Philadelphia has 119 fire hydrants that cost about $2,000 each waiting in a warehouse to be installed, yet they sit high and dry because federal regulators say their fittings might taint drinking water with lead.

The City of Brotherly Love and communities across the U.S. face the specter of hundreds of millions of dollars in useless hydrants after a surprise ruling last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that requires fireplugs put in after Jan. 4 meet stricter standards for lead content, said Tom Curtis of the American Water Works Association in Denver. That means cities must scrap or retrofit inventory or buy hydrants and parts that some vendors aren’t even making yet.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-15/cities-raise-alarms-over-epa-s-surprise-hydrant-lead-rule.html

 

[Jazzy]

They should donate them to dog parks!

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

They better have a way to put out fires quickly!

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Or stop buying stuff from China?

Yeah, lets blame China.

 

[Jazzy]

Philadelphia has 119 fire hydrants that cost about $2,000 each waiting in a warehouse to be installed, yet they sit high and dry because federal regulators say their fittings might taint drinking water with lead.

That's $238,000 they've spent. The word might is not strong enough to stop these from being installed. Hell, there are fire hydrants all over the US. Does that mean anyone living near one has tainted water? I highly doubt it.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

Philadelphia has 119 fire hydrants that cost about $2,000 each waiting in a warehouse to be installed, yet they sit high and dry because federal regulators say their fittings might taint drinking water with lead.

That's $238,000 they've spent. The word might is not strong enough to stop these from being installed. Hell, there are fire hydrants all over the US. Does that mean anyone living near one has tainted water? I highly doubt it.

Its a conspiracy!

 

[Evil Eye]

Does that mean anyone living near one has tainted water?

Only if they drink from them.
I don't see why anyone'd do that... or why it should be a requirement. Seems like you could save a lot of money by not using drinkable water for fire fighting.