Fire Hydrants

The City of Cornwall maintains, inspects and operates over 1,300 fire hydrants in our community. We flush hydrants to ensure good water quality and strong water pressure for firefighters. In winter, you can help by clearing snow from hydrants near your home. This gives firefighters quick access in an emergency.

Fire hydrant flushing

We flush the City's fire hydrants every year to keep the water system working well. This helps us ensure:

• Proper chlorine residuals
• Good water quality
• Firefighters have the strong water flow they need

If your home is nearby, you may have reduced water pressure and discoloured water until the flushing is complete.

Discoloured water

When we flush fire hydrants, the water in nearby homes may temporarily turn brown or contain sediment.

What to do:

• If your water is discolored, run your cold water taps for a few minutes until the water runs clear.
• Do not drink the water or do laundry until it is clear again.

The water is not harmful but it can stain clothes. If your laundry gets stained because of this, please call us at 613-932-5354.

Snow removal around fire hydrants

After a big snowstorm, it takes our crews time to clear snow from all the fire hydrants. A buried hydrant can delay firefighters and a few seconds can be critical.

You can help save time in an emergency:

• Please shovel snow away from the hydrant near your home
• Do not pile snow from your driveway on or around a hydrant