GREENFIELD — Greenfield officials are asking residents to keep an eye out in their neighborhoods for any person, other than a firefighter or city employee, who’s pumping out water from a public fire hydrant.
It’s illegal to use a city hydrant, according to Maj. Matt Holland, deputy chief of the Greenfield Police Department. But most summers, he said, people who aren’t aware of the city code have hooked up to fire hydrants in Greenfield and taken water without paying. Holland said it’s typically pool water carriers.
Greenfield has one metered hydrant where people can purchase bulk water. It’s located in front of the city’s water treatment plant at the corner of East Main (U.S. 40) and Baldwin streets, Holland said.
“When they hook up to a fire hydrant that’s not that metered fire hydrant, we have no way to tell, and they’re basically taking the water without paying the city for it,” Holland said, adding that each summer the city has to re-educate people on how to legally purchase bulk water.
Charles Gill, water utility manager for the city of Greenfield, said it’s not just pool water trucks that have taken water illegally. Other times, he’s heard of contractors and landscapers hooking up to the hydrants. Gill said some of the hydrants on the edges of the city limits are more prone to illegal usage.
The city’s bulk water hydrant ensures that the water department is invoiced, Gill said. Once a person or company purchases a bulk water permit for a $75 annual fee from the permit office at Greenfield City Hall, Gill said the water department inspects the person’s vehicle to see if it’s safe to hold and transfer water. Once they’re approved to use the hydrant, Gill said they’re charged according to the city’s water rates.
“It’s kind of a multiple safeguarded system, and we can keep track of who’s doing what,” he said.
If someone decides to hook up to a random city hydrant, Gill said it could cause a main break, change the velocity of the water system for a section of town, damage the hydrant or discolor water.
Holland and Gill said that if any resident sees someone using a hydrant and they’re not a Greenfield employee or firefighter using the hydrant for an emergency or for training, call the police department.
“That way we can discourage that kind of activity and make sure we protect our system and protect our citizens,” Gill said.
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If you see someone illegally using a city fire hydrant, call the Greenfield Police Department at 317-477-4400 to report the theft.
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