In Baltimore City, we've used fire hydrants as water sources for community gardens for years. Our process is as follows -- the gardener rights a letter to the local Extension Office explaining where their garden is located, where the hydrant is located, and some basics about their garden. The Extension Office forwards the letter to the Department of Public Works, which issues a use-permit that goes back to Extension, which then sends it back to the gardener. This way, the city only has to deal with one entity which it trusts, Extension. If the request seems questionable (rarely the case), an Extension employee can always go out to take a look at the site. The gardener is then responsible for purchasing a hydrant key from a local fire department supply store, and for using the hydrant safely and correctly. However, it's my understanding that the city is trying very hard to move away from this model, as there are concerns with costs and potential damage to the hydrants. We are looking at setting up a small grants program to get direct water hookups into community gardens. Best of luck!
Abby Cocke Baltimore Office of Sustainability www.baltimoresustainability.org -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mary Jac Brennan Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2011 1:08 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Community_garden] Using fire hydrants for water in the communitygarden We have a new resource program for community gardens in Winston-Salem, NC and we are interested in setting up as many options for gardening as possible. Does anyone have experience with using fire hydrants as a water source for community gardens? Does anyone have experience working with city utilities to make that happen? Can anyone direct me to some reference materials? We have great interest in new gardens, and want to have affordable options for these gardens. Thank you. Mary Jac -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communi tygarden.org/attachments/20110327/abecd98b/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.c ommunitygarden.org _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
