‘It’s a public safety issue’

July 23--After water pressure in county lines was called into question following a fire that destroyed a flourishing event venue, officials are looking for ways to improve the situation system wide.

The Cullman County Water Department's distribution system operates with "flush valves," or water hydrants, which are designed to provide clean drinking water to customers, but not necessarily ideal for fighting fires, particularly large blazes. In some places, the water pressure doesn't meet requirements for Cullman firefighters to provide fire protection when properties are annexed into the city.

As the state's third largest water service system, the county provides drinking water to more than 14,000 customers in Cullman, Morgan, Walker and Winston counties. And now, it's taking a hard look at the issue of water pressure.

"(Water Manager) Randall Waldrep has recorded water pressure levels throughout the county, and he's got some ideas on how to improve it," said Associate Commissioner Garry Marchman.

A handful of local volunteer firefighters reported struggling to get strong enough water pressure from county water hydrants to put out a fire that destroyed event venue Brick Haven on U.S. 278, west of Cullman, earlier this month.

"If we're on a fire and run out of water, what are we supposed to do? Just load up our trucks and go home while someone's home is burning down? It's a public safety issue," Logan Fire Chief Toby Bates told The Times.

County officials maintain the water pressure should have been adequate, but noted that the water system's main priority is providing drinking water to customers.

"The water tank feeding that line had 1 million gallons of water in it that night, and when they got done with the fire, there was 300,000 gallons left so 700,000 gallons went somewhere," said County Commission Chairman Kenneth Walker.

The water department recently spent $2 million to install a larger line along U.S. 278 with an additional pump station nearby Brick Haven.

Water flow rates at hydrants are factored into an area's ISO (Insurance Service Office) rating which affects homeowners' insurance. It can vary widely across the county and is higher in rural areas and lower in cities like Cullman, which just saw its ISO rating go down from 3 to 2. The higher the ISO rating, the higher a homeowners' insurance rates will be for fire protection.

Tiffeny Owens can be reached at [email protected] or at 256-734-2131, ext. 135.

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