Fayette water

officials will talk again about a request from the Cedar Trail subdivision

for fire hydrants to protect their homes.

Developers

dug a well to supply the 28-home subdivision when it was built several

years ago, according to county water system director Tony Parrott, but

the well was problematic, and the county eventually hooked the subdivision

into the county system.

That means

there's plenty of water available to supply fire hydrants, but the substandard

PVC pipe that serves the homes couldn't stand the pressure that's necessary

to fight a fire, Parrott said.

"Unless

you're going to change out the pipe in the entire subdivision, I wouldn't

recommend putting hydrants in," he told the county Water Committee

last week. That would cost around $50,000, he added.

Committee members

seemed inclined to deny the request, but County Attorney Bill McNally

suggested further discussion.

"We decided

to take over water provision, and now they want fire protection,"

he said. "What you've done is bought yourself a liability."

Cedar Trail

is the only subdivision that's currently on county water with lines unable

to handle fire hydrants, Parrott said.

But there are

12 subdivisions currently on private well systems that can't provide fire

protection, he added. If hydrants were attached to the systems and there

was a fire, the wells "would be used up in five minutes," predicted

committee member Dr. George Patton.

Among such

neighborhoods are Line Creek Estates, LaFayette Estates and Newton Plantation.

But those areas

aren't the Water Committee's responsibility, McNally said. "They've

made that choice, and it's part and parcel of the risk they take,"

he said.

In future,

new subdivisions won't have that problem, Parrott said. Developers are

required to install water lines that meet the county's standards, he said.

As for Cedar

Trail, McNally advised the committee to consider when to upgrade the neighborhood

and how to pay for it. "We need to make sure when we make that decision

we're not penalizing the people that are paying the water bills,"

he said.

The group decided

to put the request back on the agenda for a future meeting.