04 May Fire Hydrant Testing
Testing for your safety
The City of Ottawa will be testing about 10,000 fire hydrants in the south, central and west ends of the City from May to October. This maintenance procedure is routine but may result in temporary inconveniences.
You may detect an intermittent and/or short term loss in water pressure. You may experience brown or rusty coloured (discoloured) water following testing. While discoloured water is not harmful to your health, it can stain laundry.
This ongoing maintenance program is designed to ensure that our hydrants are ready should they be needed by Fire Services. Testing ensures that hydrants are in working order and verifies their flow capacities.
Reduced water pressure should only be intermittent and/or short term during testing, pressure will return to normal once the test is complete.
If you detect discoloured water, turn off your tap for 10 to 20 minutes; this should allow work crews enough time to complete the test. After work crews have left the area, turn on one COLD water tap and allow it to run for about 5 minutes or until the water becomes clear.
The planned work schedule can be seen on ottawa.ca/firehydrants. This will be updated regularly as work progresses. Unforeseen circumstances may require changes to the work plan and residents should check the schedule frequently. The City wishes to thank you for your patience and co-operation.
For daily and weekly updates on specific areas, call the Water Information Line at 613-560-6089, 3-1-1, (TTY: 613-580-2401) or visit ottawa.ca.
