I had the fine folks from the local VFD out here yesterday to talk about burning some brush. When they caught sight of my pond, their eyes got big as they asked me if I would be willing to host a dry hydrant.

Being civic minded (and also delighted to take any reduction in my insurance for having such a thing), I am certainly interested.

But I am wondering if there are guidelines pertaining to HOW MUCH water they can use from the pond. Would they be allowed to drain the thing, meaning I'd have to deal with the fish kill and restocking issues? Or are there rules that they need to find an additional source of water once mine has been drained to a certain "fish survivable" level?

Of course, if it is my house on fire, by all means they should use the whole thing!! [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

Also, I was surprised when they told me that the nearest "alternative" source was several miles away ... although there are quite a few other ponds around here, some of them much larger than mine. I don't mind helping out the neighborhood, but I'd hate to think that my little pond is the only stopgap for the surrounding 10 or 20 square miles.

Have any of you had experience with dry hydrants?