For years, I have watched cities around the state flush their fire hydrants annually. This usually calls for the removal of a plug and running the water into the street where the water goes down the storm water drainage system. It seems to me, that as taxpaying citizens, we would be better served if the water was directed onto grassing areas around the hydrants such as residential lawns, public parks, fairgrounds and the like.
This "watering" would help the grass and trees to grow, increasing the Earth's ability to reduce global warming and eliminate pollutants in the air ... it would stabilize soils from dust erosion and reduce the chances of fire danger especially in seasons of low moisture as we have had for some years.
This should not create additional costs to the citizens as the water is being "dumped" anyway and firemen or public employees are being paid to release the water. It is just a matter of directing this valuable resource to a more efficient and beneficial use to us all.
Please consider initiating this method this spring and encourage your officials to find additional ways to utilize this purged water in a better fashion. Maybe we can lead the nation in thinking outside the box on this issue.
Brian Carlson
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Grand Rapids
