Engineers for

the Fayette County Water System this week are trying to find a way to

install fire hydrants on low pressure water lines without bursting the

lines.

If they're

successful, numerous Fayette residents who currently don't have fire hydrants

in their neighborhoods may soon see their homes' safety increased.

Edward Cole,

a resident of the Cedar Trail neighborhood, told members of the county

Water Committee that he understands that installing fire hydrants in his

neighborhood might burst the pipes, but he suggested a little research

might be in order.

"I couldn't

help but think there's got to be an alternative," Cole said during

the committee's meeting last week.

The problem

all involved are trying to solve is that in some neighborhoods the water

lines aren't built to handle the pressure that fire hydrants would put

on them. The neighborhoods were built before the county's current stringent

standards were in place, or they were originally on private systems that

were later taken over by the county.

When a fire

hydrant is turned on, it suddenly pulls 1,000 gallons a minute through

the water line. When it is turned off, the sudden halt to that intense

flow sends pressure waves reverberating back through the system. It's

known as the water hammer effect.

In Cedar Trail

and in several other neighborhoods around the county, the old lines aren't

adequate to withstand that, and would have to be replaced before hydrants

could be installed, said Tony Parrott, water system director.

"When

can I expect to get hydrants put in on the street?" asked Cole. "We've

got quite a few of these lines that need upgrading and they are going

to be done in a systematic way," said Water Committee Chairman Chuck

Watkins. It will take years, said Parrott.

Cole suggested

installing pressure reducers, but that's "hideously expensive,"

said David Yeager, of the county's engineering firm, Mallett and Associates.

It would cost about as much as replacing the lines, he said.

But Yeager

was guardedly more optimistic about Cole's second suggestion, "some

sort of ratcheting device" that would close the fire hydrant valve

more slowly and reduce the water hammer effect.

"The theory

is right," said Yeager. "Whether or not they have a hydrant

that's geared that way, I don't know."

He will find

out the answer to that question and present it to the Water Committee

at its next meeting, next Wednesday at 8 a.m.

Regardless

of the answer, fire hydrants will still not be available to every Fayette

County home. In some cases, there's not enough water pressure to operate

hydrants, even those that are already installed. Upgrading lines to those

areas is part of the water system's long-term plan, said Parrott.

"We're

presently at about 5 percent of the hydrants that don't meet the flow,"

he said. "We're also working to get water to areas that do not even

have water service," he added.