Hi DPK Not my area but I would have considered this a 'last resort' as it may cause unnecessary complications and extraction licence if a permanent fitting. Considering risk how many hydrants are likely to be operating at any one time? How about adding supplementary tank(s) / booster pump. The option of emergency top up would probably not need any arrangement as the FS would probably be doing this if normal source was exhausted. Having capacity to do yourself is the 3rd layer of control as opposed to primary. Ist supply, 2nd tank + booster pump (fed from main) 3rd - emergency top up (from appliance or.... say a river. Naturally keeping a mobile pump and long hose on a 'come in handy' basis adds to your peace of mind! Steve

If you want to remove or abstract water from a surface source (e.g. river, stream or canal) or from an underground source and take more than 20 cubic metres (approximately 4,400 gallons) a day, you will almost certainly need an abstraction licence. Its not something I do on my site, but i know some of the other sites within our company do. This is the environmental link http://www.environment-a.../topics/water/32020.aspx Si

You say that there are already Fire Hydrants on the site. Do you have a works Fire Brigade? If not the local Fire Brigade will have done site visits to ensure that they are familiar with the layout of the site. In the event of a fire occuring they will be able to request that the water authorities boost the incoming presssure to the site. If that is not successful, the Fire Brigade have the resources and capabilities to take unlimited amounts of water from the river, provide it is used for fire fighting purposes. Hope this helps in some way towards your project outcome.

I think you really need to be looking at the reasons for the low flow in the first instance. This is especially so if a fire main supply will be required for the final structure. Get your services engineer/designer involved as this should have been identified by the cdmc and designers during design meetings. The environmental impact of surface water abstraction means that licences are hard to come by nowadays. Bob

Have you considered setting up EWS (Emergency Water Supply) tanks for the specificate areas of concern. If for use by emergency service then all is required is a suction eye connection. It can be linked into the main for automatic replenishing etc. Use these on the airfields as hydrants not always in the right place.

Extraction from a well is also subject to licence and charge.

Extraction water is also charged by the cubic metre and I really think there needs to be more thought over the cause rather than what is at best a sticking plaster solution. Bob

Could a booster pump be installed for fire fighting purposes? Problem with this is that the water mains would have to be able to take the extra pressure. Or, a procedure such as having two outlets open upon activation of the booster pump.

At this point I feel like I have more questions than answers! The OP does not make clear how the present arrangement works - apart from unsatisfactorily. I presume that you have a number of hydrant points that are supplied directly via the water main with no tank and or boosting in place. In addition it is not clear on what basis these hydrants are used/expected to be used. Is it simply a contingency for emergency fire-fighting purposes that one would hope to never use in anger or is it a set-up that is perhaps used for more general wash-down type activities that could also serve a fire-fighting purpose? In a past life I have worked on emergency fire pump systems and it is not too uncommon to find such pumps fed from rivers - if I were to guess I'd suggest that in my experience such set-ups would represent fewer than 10% of emergency firepumps that I encountered. It is far more common to have a dedicated (large) tank to feed the emergency firepumps. It is also a much less complicated arrangement - regarding valves, header tanks, suction lift etc - if one uses pumps fed from a tank. As others have mentioned one of the main problems associated with drawing water from a reservoir or river is ensuring that any solids are filtered prior to reaching any non-return valves and or sensitive pumping equipment. Many such installations suffer reliability issues as a result of NRVs sticking open - relaibility issues are generally not the sort of thing that you want with a system that may be utilised for fire-fighting. If this set is genuinely seen as a means to fight fires then, at the risk of opening a can of worms, I'd be tempted to draw on the expertise of the company insurers as they tend to have a good insight into what is feasible/practical and also, ultimately, will need to be content themselves about your provision.

I have known a fire and rescue service (in Scotland) to use a nearby swimming pool for emergency water supply to fight a fire when the hydrants failed. And I am not kidding here (even though it is close to Xmas). Son of Skywalker

If you have a major river on the site boundary-i.e. no chance of the river drying up- you need to consider depth - sufficient for the end of the fire suction hose about 1.2 metres- the weight of the tender - about 16 tonnes - and access to the river. Provide a railing if you can. Obviously talk with your local fire station officer. If hydrant supplies are poor, consider an emergency water tank. The fire officer should be able to advise how much water an appliance uses per minute. Insurers will often state what size the tank needs to be, but I believe 30 minutes supply is common. You can also ask the brigade to test the hydrant, but be aware this will disturb sediment and local residents may get rusty water. Good Luck