EID operates and maintains approximately 7,000 hydrants across its 220-square-mile service area, from Strawberry to the Sacramento County line. With our limited resources and competing priorities, we have been able to perform maintenance on about 35 percent of the hydrants in our system to date.

The District encourages community members to “adopt” a fire hydrant close to their home or business and keep it free of weeds and shrubbery—or clear of snow in winter if located above the snow line.

Over the last five years, EID has dedicated a full-time team to inspect, perform maintenance, and verify operation of all of our hydrants. Each one is inspected, exercised, lubricated, pressure tested, flushed and given a fresh coat of paint. If defects are found, those defects are identified in a subsequent work order and given a corresponding priority for repair or replacement.

Clear Access Keeps our Communities Safe

When responding to a fire it is important that fire department personnel gain access to a water supply via a fire hydrant as quickly as possible. That way, the fire can be extinguished and prevent loss of property and/or life.

In the event of a fire in your neighborhood, firefighters may spend valuable time searching for and accessing a hydrant when they could be doing other important tasks.

This is where members of the community can help.

Some people in our community have informally “adopted a hydrant” in their neighborhood and take responsibility to clear a path approximately three feet around the hydrant as well as clear a path from the street or roadway up to the fire hydrant so that the hydrant is visible and accessible.

Structure fires occur at the highest rates during the winter months. These house fires are usually caused by heating appliances like space heaters and wood stoves, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

When fire department personnel respond to put out a house fire, the fire engines carry enough water to make an initial fire attack, but they soon need a continuous water supply from a fire hydrant to extinguish some fires.

Finding and connecting to a fire hydrant is one of the firefighters’ first priorities. New GPS mapping technology on fire engines has improved firefighters’ ability to find hydrant locations more quickly, but getting to them when they are shrouded in shrubs and other vegetation can be a challenge.

If you notice that a fire hydrant has been damaged, missing caps, leaking water, or if it is blocked please notify EID by calling 530-642-4000 or email billing@eid.org. Please also contact us if you suspect possible water theft or unauthorized use of fire hydrants.

We encourage you to find the fire hydrant near your house and clear it from vegetation and snow. This will improve the chances that the fire department can knock down a fire as quickly as possible.  To locate a fire hydrant visit our Locate a Fire Hydrant webpage.

In accordance with District Administrative Regulation 5014.1 Fire Hydrants, no person, other than authorized EID or fire protection agency personnel, shall open or draw water from any fire hydrant connected to the District's distribution system without prior specific authorization from the District. Refer to Administrative Regulation 9073 for authorized temporary water use or visit our website dedicated to obtaining a Temporary Water Use Permit.