Part 6 – Water Supply

6.9    Hydrants

6.9.1    Spacing

Hydrants shall be spaced at intervals not exceeding the following:

• Residential areas            135 m
• Commercial and industrial areas    90 m  (on each side of the road)

In a cul-de-sac or in other terminal streets, the last hydrant shall be not more than 65 m from the end of the street measured at the property boundary.

Where houses or residential units are situated on private ways, there shall be a hydrant within 135 metres of any house or unit.

Where a residential private way is more than 65 metres long, a hydrant shall be sited at the street end of the private way or on the other side of the street immediately opposite the entrance.

If necessary, a principal main shall be constructed and a hydrant placed within the private way in order to ensure each house or unit is within 135 m of a hydrant.

Hydrants should be located clear of property entranceways (in the grassed roadway berm).

In new developments, where formation of property entranceways are deferred until construction of the buildings, hydrants should be located in the centre of the street frontage to avoid the most likely location of the entranceways along side boundaries.

In addition to hydrant spacing for fire fighting, hydrants shall be positioned at high points to facilitate flushing air from the mains and at low points to facilitate flushing sediment from the mains.

Hydrants shall be placed within hydrant boxes and the location of the hydrants marked. 

Note:  The MPDC Infrastructure Code of Practice provides a useful guide.