Fire Services
Council water mains are located within public road, public reserve and pathways or water supply reserves. Council installs and maintains hydrants in its water supply network at convenient distances and places for the ready supply of water to extinguish fires and for Council’s operational purposes.
Developers and property owners may be required to install a private hydrant (or hydrants) wherever an existing or proposed development is out of reach of the street hydrant and located within Council's water supply network in accordance with essential fire safety requirements and Australian Standard AS2419.
Whilst Council is responsible for the connection to the water main and the installation of the valve and tee, the developer and/or property owner is responsible for the supply and installation of all fire safety infrastructure such as designated fire hydrants, fire sprinkler services and fire hose reels.
All requests for a fire service connection to Council’s water network must be accompanied by sizing advice from a hydraulic consultant or development consent outlining sizing requirements.
The supply of water from a fire service for any purpose other than firefighting or testing of firefighting equipment is not allowed and will be considered as water theft. Only members of the Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Rural Fire Service and authorised Council water and sewer officers are approved to access and operate street hydrants.
Please note, the use of metered standpipes is not permitted within Singleton Council’s Water Supply Network, which extends to Singleton, Mount Thorley, Jerrys Plains and Broke. Standpipes provided by other Water Authorities, including Hunter Water and Sydney Water, are not permitted within Singleton Council’s Water Supply Network. Use of such standpipes is considered water theft.
Water metering of fire services will be assessed by Council on the type, size and use of the development. Typically:
- Hose Reel Services must be connected to a metered service (refer to the Plumbing Code of Australia 2019). Where this is not currently the case, Council will work with these property owners with a view to installing a complying connection, at the owner’s expense.
- Designated Fire Hydrant Services must be fitted with an Australian Standard approved Double Check Valve Assembly (DCVA) and an appropriately sized bypass water meter and constructed in accordance with the relevant Australian Standard.
- Residential / Home Fire Sprinkler Services designed under AS2118.4 or AS2118.5, which utilise a low volume of water, must be fitted with an Australian Standard approved DCVA and an appropriately sized bypass water meter and constructed in accordance with the relevant Australian Standard.
Available Water Pressure Statement
Council can provide a statement of available water pressure to the developer or property owners’ hydraulic consultant to assist in the design of appropriate fire service systems for the development.
On receipt of the Statement of Available Pressure application, nominating the flow rates required and payment of the appropriate fees and charges, Council’s Water and Sewer Group Development Engineer and/or Utilities Plumber undertake the required testing at the indicated location and provide advice of the main capacity and pressure available to the applicant.
The fees are charges are adopted annually by Council and can be found in the adopted Fees and Charges.
Further information can be obtained by contacting Council’s Water and Sewer Group Development Engineer on T 02 6578 7290.
Additional Information
Further information on can be found in the following related documents: