Residential Gated Comminutes are an increasingly popular type of housing development in the Klein Fire District.  For the most part they offer a limited number of larger lots, usually an acre or more, surrounded by fencing and a controlled entrance.  Many, if not all of the developments in the Klein area have a lake, which has been created artificially to control surface water run off into the local watershed.  During times of heavy rain these lakes fill up with run off water from the community.  As the water level rises it begins to overflow in to the local flood control ditches at a metered rate somewhat less than what the lake is taking in.  Most of the year these artificial lakes have water in them just below the discharge point.  In times of drought however these lakes may become very shallow. 

So what do these lakes have to do with fire protection?  The answer is they may be the source of the water for a fire protection system in the gated community.  Developers of these communities have keep cost down by selling lots which require a well for water or have small private water systems which are designed to serve the potable water needs of the residences only.  Missing from all of this is the traditional water supply designed to supply water for fire fighting from hydrants placed about every 800 feet along the roads.

The Texas Natural Resource and Conservation Commission recently stated that potable well water is becoming more valuable every year.  This water should not be used for fire fighting if at all possible.  They are encouraging the use of surface water impoundments to supply water for fire fighting.    The gated comminutes developers have taken this idea knowingly or unknowingly and designed the total community fire fighting water supply around the surface water run off lake.

How does a fire department get the water out of the lake and get it to where it’s needed for extingushment?  They suck it out of the lake (drafting) with a fire truck then pump it down a large hose to another fire truck, which boost the pressure, and supplies water to the hand lines used by the fire fighters.   There is a problem with all of this if the developer has not prepared a place for the trucks to approach the lake and draft water.  Suction lines are limited to about 20 feet by the physics of the operation.  It is difficult in dry weather and impossible in wet weather to get a fire truck close enough to a lake to reach the water.  One gated community in Klein provided three drafting points with built in lines to the lake.  When these were tested only one of the three points was located so that a fire truck could connect to the point.  The other two were useless.

Once the fire truck has established a draft it still has to get the water to the scene of the fire.  One way is to have several trucks shuttle water between the drafting pumper and a tanker supplying water to the fire lines.  In crowded subdivisions with few through streets and cars parked on the streets this " Water Shuttle" is not efficient in supplying water for fighting larger house fires of the type which will most likely be built on these lots.  The second way to secure a continuous water supply for the fire is to lay hose from the drafting truck at the lake to the fire and relay pump the water down the hose.  This is often used in hydranted subdivision if a hydrant fails or more water is need.  The problem in the gated comunity is the great distances between the drafting point and the most distant home in the community.  A recent developer showed a plot map with a drafting point almost 2500 feet away from the most distant lot in the development.  This distance would require three hosebed loads of hose to reach the fire from the drafting point plus two pumpers to boost in line and a dozen firefighters to make it work.

A better solution for the water supply problems in these types of comminutes may be a compromise between the high cost of a hydrant system using valuable potable water, or the long distance water supply problems facing the fire department from drafting lakes.  The solution is to place a dry hydrant system in the community such that each dry hydrant is not more than 800 feet from any home.  The hydrant lines would extend back to the drafting point underground.  They would be left dry.  When water is needed for a fire, the drafting truck establishes a water supply form the lake and pumps water into the dry hydrant system.  The next pumper only has to connect to the closest dry hydrant and lay supply line into the fire.  The drafting pumper maintains water flow and pressure to this hydrant from the lake without placing large amounts hose on the ground. 

The developer has to spend some additional money to place the larger pipe and hydrants into the development.  However money is saved by not having to have large reserve water storage and high capacity pumps to keep the hydrant system fully charged with water.  The developer can also point out to potential homebuyers that he has taken extra care to provide an emergency water supply within 800 feet of any home in the community. In the example above only four dry hydrants were need in the community to place every lot within 800 feet of water supply.

The bottom line to all of this is prospective homebuilders in gated communities should ask the developer what arrangements have been made for a fire water supply.  Once they get the answer they should meet with their insurance agent to determine what effect this will have on their hone insurance rates once their dream home is built.  Depending on what the developer says, they may be in for a real shock.  Going from a Municipal Water District to a less than adequate water supply (for fire fighting) may off set any saving in MUD taxes the private water supply can offer.