Hydrant abuse costing millions of litres of water
Businesses illegally tapping into fire and third-party hydrants are costing us millions of litres in lost water - and putting lives at risk by jeopardising firefighters ability to tackle blazes.
We estimate that we currently lose up to 20 million litres of water every month - equivalent to the average daily water consumption of 142,857 customers or the same volume of water contained in eight Olympic swimming pools - as a result of such activity.
The unusually dry conditions experienced across much of the region over the last few months, coupled with the challenging operating conditions many businesses now face, appears to have exacerbated the problem, with water theft in the region predicted to have reached an all time high last month (July), with an estimated 25 million litres of water likely to have been illegally siphoned from hydrants over just 31 days.
However, whilst the amount of water illegally abstracted from hydrants is rapidly growing, we have seen a big drop in the number of reported incidents of such abuse - indicating that either many incidents are going unreported or that a smaller number of hydrant abusers are illegally obtaining ever larger quantities of water.
Between January and July 2010, we had reports of 78 separate incidents of hydrant abuse, compared with last year when 207 incidents were reported.
West Yorkshire remains the our hydrant abuse hotspot with 32 cases recorded so far this year - the highest number of these - 13 - occurring in Bradford.
Both Sheffield and Leeds are also hydrant abuse hives, recording 12 and nine cases respectively since the start of the year.
Whilst South Yorkshire has seen 23 cases of hydrant abuse since the start of the year, the problem doesn't appear to be quite as bad in North Yorkshire (13) and East Yorkshire (10).
Many companies - from window cleaners through to road sweepers and drain jetters - need access to water to be able to carry out their work and do this legally by using standpipes which comply with the necessary regulations.
This gives them the right to access the plentiful supply of wash out hydrants, which are clearly marked by the letters 'WO'. Fire hydrants - which are clearly marked with the letters 'FH' - should only ever be used by the emergency services and not by anybody else.
Businesses illegally accessing both third party and fire hydrants without the proper equipment or permission risk not only damaging the hydrant - and thus endangering human life - but also potentially causing incidents of discolouration to the public water supply or even disruptions to water supplies.
And, while both the fire brigade and ourselves carry out regular inspections, there have been instances where emergency services have arrived at a fire only to find that the hydrant is damaged. This puts lives at risk and those responsible face a court appearance and potentially a hefty fine.
In the last eight months we have successfully prosecuted five businesses found to be illegally tapping into fire or third-party hydrants, with offenders receiving a maximum £1,000 fine per offence plus legal costs. We have also issued more than two dozen cautions - essentially last warnings - to businesses across the region in the past year.
Businesses are required to use a metered standpipe which is no more than an inch in diameter, as a larger bore can damage the attachment on the hydrant, much like a screw with a worn thread, and put undue pressure on the supply pipe. It is estimated that someone using an illegal three-inch standpipe could abstract about 1,000 litres of water in less than a minute.
Members of the public should report any instances where they suspect illegal use of the water supply to contact Yorkshire Water on 01274 804457. Businesses wishing to know more about the regulations can also call this number. Regulated metered standpipes can be obtained only through Yorkshire Water at an annual cost of £567 +VAT or just £16.50 +VAT a week. Users then pay for any water they extract on a monthly basis.
