The Demopolis Fire Department will begin their biannual fire hydrant testing Tuesday, April 9.

The department tests the hydrants to ensure that they are in working condition, and providing proper pressure.

“We check the gallons per minute for each hydrant,” Demopolis Fire Chief Tommy Tate said. “It’s a good way of checking the system and making sure everything is operable.”

Tate said there are more than 400 hydrants in the city, and it will take about three weeks for them to get to all of the hydrants. The process can also make tap water come through cloudy, but that is a problem easily fixed.

“It can dirty up the water a little bit,” Tate said. “You just have to run the water for a minute or two and it will clean it up.”

The fire department does not do any of the maintenance on the hydrants, but if there is a problem with one, the water department handles it.

“We work with the water department so they know what’s going on,” Tate said. “That way, if there is a main break or something of that nature, they can respond to it.”