Thanks to House Bill 1086, which was signed into law June 14, neighborhoods in Kyle and Buda received a splash of color on Sept. 4.

HB 1086 requires public utilities to paint red any hydrants that are capable of producing adequate fire flow, which is defined as 20 pounds of water per square inch. Because of a law passed in 2007, privately owned utilities such as Monarch Utilities, which provides water service to more than 1,000 customers in Hays County, had previously been able to paint hydrants black in order to free themselves from liability in the event that a hydrant did not provide fire flow.

The practice also signaled to firefighters that the hydrants might not be able to provide adequate pressure, but the hydrants have always been capable of providing adequate flow, said Gary Rose, director of operations for SouthWest Water Co., Monarch's parent company.

"Private companies did not have the same protection [as municipal governments] under the bill that was passed," Rose said. "Listening to the neighborhood, people had concerns that the hydrants couldn't adequately fight fires, and we said, 'No, that's not an issue, but it's painted black because of this liability concern.'"

The utility tried to create a memorandum of understanding with the Emergency Services District No. 5, which oversees the Kyle Fire Department, in 2011, Rose said. The document would have alerted firefighters that the black hydrants were capable of producing fire flow, but ESD #5 President Beth Smith said the board refused to agree to the document's terms because it put too much liability on the fire department.

"If any of the pipes broke or anything like that during testing, it would fall back on the fire department," Smith said. "So we weren't going to be liable for that."

Rose said SouthWest Water Co. has been working to create a solution to the black hydrant issue since 2011, but in a letter declining the company's invitation to the painting ceremony, Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson said, "the decision by Monarch Water to repaint [the hydrants] back to red was the result of thousands of dollars spent on legal assistance and many hours of City of Kyle staff time in presenting our case to the State Legislature that the hydrants should never have been painted black in the first place."

Rose said he had hoped city officials would attend the event.

"We're a little bit disappointed," Rose said. "We view this as a win-win for everybody; for us, for the city, for the customers and the citizens. We're very appreciative of the senators for sponsoring the bill and getting it done and we're a little disappointed about the position the city is taking."

Rose said all the utility's hydrants within the city limits of Kyle and Buda will be painted red "within the next few weeks."