ECUA Water Customers Could See Low Pressure, Discolored Water Next Week

September 18, 2011

ECUA water customers in Escambia County could experience lower water pressure or discolored water for brief periods during the next week due to testing.

The ECUA water system will undergo system-wide fire protection capability testing September 19-23. The ISO water system testing will include pressure and flow testing at fire hydrants throughout the ECUA water service area.

According to ECUA, these tests have the potential to temporarily impact small segments of the service area, possibly resulting in isolated and/or short-term cases of lower-than-normal water pressure. The potential also exists for the appearance of discolored water for brief periods in areas where the testing will be conducted.

The ISO testing is part of a national program that serves insurance companies, fire departments, and insurance regulators through the provision of information related to risk. The information is used in pricing homeowner and commercial property insurance.

Comments

4 Responses to “ECUA Water Customers Could See Low Pressure, Discolored Water Next Week”

  1. David Huie Green on September 20th, 2011 10:27 am

    I don’t think the Environmental Protection Agency cares if a hydrant flows at a given rate or not, but the Insurance Services Organization does. It is part of how they verify there is enough water available to douse a structure fire and is used to rate the fire protection for a given area and set insurance rates. (They also need a certain response time, equipment availability, proof of training.)

    Some years back the reduction in insurance rates more than made up for the Municipal Services Benefit Unit fees to fund the fire fighters. People saw several hundred dollars per year come off their insurance back then. I have no idea how it compares nowadays.

  2. Jane on September 19th, 2011 6:17 am

    They are doing this for the insurance companies and EPA regs. Read the article carefully.

  3. laughing but not funny on September 18th, 2011 8:46 pm

    Jane,

    As someone that doesn’t work for ECUA but is familiar with what they are doing, I can tell you that you should be grateful they are doing this. They are spending a lot of time and money to make sure that fire hydrants work….one near you could save your home or life. 2 homes were lost in Santa Rosa county in the last couple of years due to non-working hydrants.

  4. Jane on September 18th, 2011 1:32 pm

    More excuses for poor service, at a higher cost. Are they taking classes in Washington?