[Archived] What do the applicable national standards advise for preventative fire hydrant work? Are there existing fees that can be increased to prevent this reduction?

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends preventative maintenance of fire hydrants on a five year schedule as best practice; however, there are no firm guidelines or requirements on frequency of this maintenance. Current budget levels allow preventative maintenance at a five year frequency, but the proposed reduction in the fire hydrant operating budget would result in decreasing the frequency of preventative maintenance to a 10-year cycle. Existing requirements do include inspection and testing annually, which is currently being done by the Alexandria Fire Department and Virginia American Water, and there will be no impacts to the annual testing and inspection of public fire hydrants. Currently, there are no fees associated with public fire hydrant maintenance that could be increased.