Another Busy Weekend for the Water Delivery TAC

Another Busy Weekend for the Water Delivery TAC

The weekend of April 26-27 was another busy one for the OFCA Water Delivery Technical Advisory Committee (WDTAC). Members of the WDTAC supported rural water supply operations training events in Williams and Belmont Counties over the weekend – about as geographically separated as you can get in the Buckeye State.

On Saturday, April 25th, five WDTAC members, including Chairman Parker Browne, converged on the northwestern-most corner of the state to support Williams County’s annual fire school, with a turnout of about 30 local firefighters. The WDTAC provided classroom and field training on rural water delivery techniques in conjunction with a pump operator’s class.

The Williams County fire service has a mature and well-developed rural water supply system in place, and WDTAC members were especially impressed with the county-wide automatic aid book in use by all county departments. Of additional interest, Edgerton Fire Department demonstrated the use of center pivot irrigation systems as alternative water supply sources. With irrigation systems becoming increasingly common in Ohio’s agricultural areas, this represents a potentially major new water supply resource for rural departments.

On Sunday, April 26th, WDTAC member Jim Delman headed up Belmont County’s annual mutual aid water supply task force drill. In addition to Belmont County departments, representatives were on hand from four neighboring counties, with a total attendance of more than 60 firefighters.

The WDTAC continues its work on developing effective alternative water delivery systems and techniques throughout Ohio and beyond. Members of Ohio’s fire service are invited to attend a WDTAC update and informational briefing at the 2014 Ohio Fire and Rescue Officer Development Conference on Saturday, July 26th.