Photo Courtesy of New Jersey American Water New Jersey American Water’s Travis Searles flushes a hydrant in the company’s Delran service area.
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield Fire Department, in partnership with the Bloomfield Engineering Department, began routine, mandatory hydrant flushing on Monday, May 9. To minimize disruption to residents that may be impacted, notifications about which hydrants will be flushed will be made ahead of time via the township cable channel, Channel 35; the township website; and the township Facebook page.
“Hydrant flushing is a routine maintenance process that our fire department and engineering department jointly perform in a quick and efficient manner,” Mayor Michael Venezia said. “In the past we have received complaints of clogged filters as a result of this process, so property owners who have installed internal house filters at the service pipe near their meter should remove the filters when they receive notice of flushing in their area.”
Excess sediment can be caught in household filters thereby limiting the life of the filter. The filters can be reinstalled after the flushing is complete.
“Part of our department’s efforts to protect the people of Bloomfield includes performing regular maintenance and inspections,” Fire Chief Lou Venezia said. “Not only is hydrant flushing required but it is a critical task that ensures, when we need these hydrants during an emergency, we know that they will function properly without incident.”
Regular hydrant flushing is required by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the National Fire Protection Association to flush out sediment and to ensure that the hydrants are functioning properly.
There are roughly 1,200 fire hydrants in the township that will be serviced and that process will take approximately four months to complete.
About the Author
