Who Clears Fire Hydrants

The huge snow pack that accumulated in

December buried pretty much everything in the Keys, including all of the fire hydrants. This has probably raised a question in your mind of who is responsible for keeping hydrants clear? The answer is you, but this needs an explanation. The TKPOA owns the water system in most of the Keys, including the hydrants, so you would think it would be the Keys’ responsibility to clear the snow. But due to the infrequency of snow storms, it is impractical for the Keys to have staff and equipment on hand to clear snow at all the hydrants. We have gone multiple years in a row with little snow, and had we had snow removal staff and equipment on hand, it would have been idle. TKPOA could annually contract out hydrant snow removal like many homeowners and the Coves do for their driveways, but it hasn’t been in the budget. Perhaps it should be added in the future. But as you know, our dues are already steep, and we have lots of priorities eating up money.

The City of South Lake Tahoe plows the streets because they own the streets, but it isn’t their job to clear the hydrants. In fact, berms from City plows aggravate the problem at hydrants; we all love the berms! The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department only has budget to clear certain key fire hydrants scattered around the city. STPUD is like TKPOA, they don’t budget for fire hydrant clearing in their service area. So when a fire happens, the fire department has to first clear one or more hydrants before they can put the fire out. This consumes valuable time, and winter fires can be very bad as a result. But this is the reality, city-wide.

So for now at least, the responsibility for hydrant clearing falls on you and your neighbors. I’d encourage you to find the hydrant closest to your house, and that you alone or with neighbors “adopt” that hydrant. Then work throughout the winter to keep it clear, so that if a fire erupts at your house or in your neighborhood, the fire department can quickly get access to water. The photo below is the hydrant by my house on Christie that my friend and neighbor Rudy Pakes and I have adopted. We’re not 100% in keeping it clear, but we’re trying to keep up with it.

Sincerely, Dave Peterson

TKPOA BOARD PRESIDENT