The fire hydrants throughout the City of Petal will be seeing some action over the next couple of months, as officials from the Petal Fire Department recently announced they have started flushing and testing the hydrants.
Fire chief Marion Sims said the testing is an annual measure, in order to measure the available water supply, as well as to determine the location of the hydrants for fire protection purposes.
“What this does, this assists in the gradings with rating bureaus (throughout the state),” Sims said. “The hydrant test also ensures that the water distribution systems can provide that adequate flow that’s needed for that area.”
The testing will take place intermittently throughout the city over the next two months. Residents in the area where fire department staff are currently working may experience some discoloration in their water, but Sims said that issue can be cleared up by running the water for a minute or two until it clears up.
“It’s nothing to really be alarmed about; it’s just basically your contents (of the pipes) being deposited in the water – rust and stuff like that, that may be in the pipes,” he said.
Anyone with questions regarding the testing is welcome to call Petal Fire Station No. 1 at (601) 705-0908.
“We’ll be available to talk to them about whatever they’ve got going on,” Sims said.
