Just six days into summer, more Baltimore City fire hydrants have been hacked open this year than last - wasting millions of gallons of water, city officials said.
So far this year, people have burst open 401 hydrants to bask in the comfort of a free rush of cooling water, compared with 337 for all of last year, according to the Department of Public Works.
"We've had a really hot period, and they're up this year," said Kurt Kocher, department spokesman.
City crews are on alert for hydrant breaks, sometimes combing the streets but more often relying on reports from residents.
"If you have 50 open simultaneously, you have a real problem. It might take us an hour or longer to get to them, Kocher said."
Opening fire hydrants in the city is illegal. It lowers water pressure in the area and poses a danger to children, who can be thrown into the street or hidden from cars while playing in the overpowering rush of water, he said.
"It's especially dangerous. Children can get hurt," Kocher said. "Every year, you read about children getting killed by this somewhere in country."
The busiest day so far this year was June 14, when 63 fire hydrants gushed on the same day, sending city crews scampering to shut them off.
Though it might seem as if this year is hotter than last, it's not, according to the National Weather Service.
In May, the average temperature was 63.4 degrees, similar to last year and right on target for the month. June temperatures have averaged 72.8 degrees, which is the same as last year and normal for the month.
Rainfall also has been within the normal range, the weather service said.
Still, children and adults have opened hydrants with everything from homemade tools to sledgehammers, sometimes breaking the locks.
"We've ordered more locks," Kocher said.
Of the 10,000 hydrants in the city, 1,600 have locks on them.
Punishment for tampering with a fire hydrant is up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.
The utility maintenance department has received a shipment of 200 locks, and 200 more are on order, said Warren Williams, acting chief of the department. They cost $150 each and come in seven varieties to fit the different city hydrants.
The city has been affixing them for three years, and attached 381 this year. In 1999, the first year of the locks, 1,217 hydrants were opened illegally. In 1998, 850 were opened.
As much as 1,000 gallons of water surges out of an open fire hydrant every minute it's open, fire officials say.
Kocher said each hour a hydrant is open costs about $61.25 in water. If every hydrant that's been opened this year flowed for an hour before city workers closed it - which is about average, according to the Department of Public Works - it would total about 24 million gallons, or about $24,500.
"At a time when we really need to be conserving our resources, this is a disturbing occurrence," said Tony White, spokesman for Mayor Martin O'Malley. "With the understanding that the water does provide comfort in the heat, we ask folks to utilize neighborhood pools to beat heat rather than fire hydrants."
The public works department also lends sprinkler equipment to adults and shows them how to attach the equipment to fire hydrants. The sprinklers release a steady stream of water. Children must be supervised when using the sprinklers. Information: 410-396- 5819.
