Proposal to Reduce Water Pressure Called a Fire Risk : Oxnard: The conservation measure may interfere with the functioning of sprinklers in some beach areas.
Oxnard officials have drawn heat for plans to cut water pressure in the city’s beach communities, a conservation measure that sprinkler installers say could leave buildings vulnerable to fire.
Public Works Director Jim Frandsen acknowledged Thursday that homeowners with sprinkler systems in the beach areas should have them checked once the pressure is reduced to average city levels, but said there is no cause for alarm.
Eugene Charbonneau, owner of a Ventura sprinkler installation company, wrote to city officials April 17 warning that the water-pressure reductions could limit the effectiveness of sprinklers designed for the area’s higher pressures.
“Please take note that these sprinkler systems may not function properly,†Charbonneau wrote. Specifically, he said, fires could spread because the weakened systems would not discharge enough water to extinguish them.
Several sprinkler company owners contacted Thursday shared Charbonneau’s concerns that some systems won’t operate properly unless they are retrofitted with larger pipes.
“I’m not going to say there would be loss of life, but it could take longer to extinguish a fire,†said Buzz Burch, owner of Burch Fire Protection Systems Inc. in Oxnard.
Oxnard Water Supt. Jim Blackford said only homes in the areas of Channel Islands Harbor, Mandalay Bay and Oxnard Shores will see water pressure cut when system modifications are completed later this year. The pressure in that area now runs up to 70 to 90 pounds per square inch, compared with a citywide average of 55 to 60 psi, he said.
“We’re not reducing the pressure throughout the city,†said Blackford, adding that areas north of Gonzales Road will have their pressure boosted by about 10%. “The beach area is basically residential. I don’t think there are very many sprinkler systems over there, but we will verify that with the Fire Department.â€
Assistant County Fire Marshal Dan Spykerman said no other cities in Ventura County have yet cut water pressure as a conservation method, but some cities have discussed such measures.
“We’re particularly concerned about the possible impact on commercial and industrial buildings,†Spykerman said. “If businesses or homeowners become aware that their community is going to drop water pressure, they need to contact the water company and find out what effect it will have on their sprinkler systems.â€
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