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15% Of Century’s Fire Hydrants Are In Bad Shape. Seven Don’t Work At All.
June 28, 2020
A survey of the 133 fire hydrants on the Century water system found that 17 are in poor to failed condition. Seven of those don’t work at all.
A Century Water System Asset Management and Fiscal Sustainability Plan from the Florida Rural Water Association (FRWA) found the problems. The plan was accepted and approved by the town council recently.
Just five hydrants are classified as being in good to excellent condition. There are 91 (81% of the total) in average condition with only minor to moderate corrosion, broken chains, minor leaks, or needing paint.
Seven are in poor condition with moderate to heavy corrosion, some difficulty turning, too low the ground or other problems.
Three are in very poor condition that need to be service or repaired within the next three years, according to the water association. They are knocked over, or are leaning too much.
Six of the seven failed hydrants have seized operating nuts and one has a broken stem that spins freely. FRWA says the fire hydrants need to be replace immediately for fire prevention capabilities and to allow the water system to be flushed to maintain drinking water quality.
It will cost an estimated $29,500 to replace the seven failed hydrants, plus $5,000 to repair the 10 poor to very poor condition hydrants, according to FRWA.
Here are the fire hydrants in poor to failed condition:
FAILED
East Pond St/Ramar St — Operating nut seized, severe corrosion
Jefferson Ave/Mayo Lane – Operating nut seized
Jefferson Ave south of Jim Lane — Operating nut seized
Highway 4 north of Campbell Rd – Operating nut seized
Old Flomaton Rd — Operating nut seized
N Century Blvd/Tedder St — Stem broke, spins freely
Front St/Lodge Dr — Operating nut seized
VERY POOR CONDITION
Jefferson Ave SW of Church St – Knocked over
Alger Rd south of Plum St — Leaning backward 45 degrees
N Century Blvd/W Cottage St — Leaning 30 degrees, operating fine
POOR CONDITION
2nd St between Industrial and Hadley — Operating nut super tight, needs grease
N Century Blvd SW of Hudson Hill Rd — Leaning significantly, too low to the ground
Campbell Rd/Fannie Rd — Operating nut super tight, needs grease, front outer welded
Freedom Rd/Camellia Gardens – Significantly leaking, operating nut super tight
Old Flomaton Rd — (no reason provided)
Mayo St/Church St – Too low to the ground, needs to be raised
Hwy 29 west of Jackson St – Buried to outlets
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Comments
20 Responses to “15% Of Century’s Fire Hydrants Are In Bad Shape. Seven Don’t Work At All.”
Someone needs to report this to the state authorities and to the state fire marshals office this is uncalled for as an employee of a water supply with over 3,000 fire hydrants I am glad to say I only have 2 out of service and that is due to new construction in the area get with the program people
The reporting from NorthEscambia.com on the Town of Century has shown governance is not working, is inept, possibly corrupt on some levels, and continues to decline regardless of the steps taken. One council persons response to the reporting was not “what can we do to make it better” but rather “how can we get this news site to leave us alone”.
I look at the site daily expecting one day the State of Florida to wake up and pay attention to what is going on and provide oversight or the people of Century to say “enough is enough” and vote to dissolve the city and let the county take things back over but it never happens.
Regardless, keep it up William. Shining the light of truth on what is happening will one day be the catalyst for change.
Nothing and nobody else works in Century…why should the fire hydrants?
99% of Century council does not work.
Once again the TOC leadership have proven their inability to provide even basic services. Meanwhile, the ones that are supposed to be maintaining the city’s infrastructure are styling in those brand new trucks.
Dysfunctional, no leadership, no vision. An utter failure of municipal leadership straight from the top.
Reckon they’ll just have to go back to horse troughs and buckets.
@Anne
You are 100 % correct if the insurance companies find out about this they can raise your rates immediately or even cancel your policy.Insurance rates are based on a lot of things and working /non working fire hydrants can impact on your home insurance.
David,
If you sued the city, you would get nothing.
They have nothing to give. Or maybe they
would pay you in monthly payments
over 750 years.
There’s a water main broke in my front yard called and reported it Friday its filling my yard with water no one has been here who is responsible for the fire hydrants I pay fire taxes every year
Unlike being fiscally irresponsible, TOC now puts lives in jeopardy. And this didn’t happen overnight. Who is responsible for public safety and who will be held accountable for this?
Sounds just like their town council.
I remember back when my Brother was Chief their dept. went out and checked all of the plugs in their district. That’s something that needs to be done often and problems solved before someone gets burned…
You might say Century is coming apart at the seams.
If you live in Flomaton or Century and something catches on fire……….run
Major fiscal mismanagement
If a home caught fire..and a hose was hooked to a totally broken hydrant..and the house burned down..many other scenarios….the town needs to be sued and bulldozed down and start over with town management with more than a 1 grade education
Pure dangerous neglect but it didnt just start here
I wish state government would stop looking the other way as they are part of this problem
it is a step forward that the town officials are at least addressing the problem. i live on a street in the city limits that doesn’t even have fire hydrants. go figure. i have city water and garbage service.
Century’s litany of woes and mismanagement seems to continue endlessly.
Homeowners, with this new information be prepared for your insurance cost to JUMP Up. Thanks to the do-nothing City Council.
GROAN…..May the Good Lord Protect you from fires, seems the leadership has let you down again.
So when is someone held accountable? The town of Century has been nothing but failure after failure. As in every business and government entity, the buck stops at the top and I hold the Mayor accountable.
I use to pre heat the top plate and pour 90 weight oil on them. Then greased them. Always worked for the seized up ones if the problem was at the top of unit