Fire-Fighting Water from Water Distribution Networks – how can the extra Costs for the Networks be determined?

Abstract

The provision of fire-fighting water is, with the exception of Rheinland-Pfalz, an independent and binding self-governing task of the municipalities on hazard control, which however is often transferred to the water distribution companies. Due to this situation, the questions are consistently what are the related extra costs of the fire-fighting water and how can they be calculated. The present article describes a suitable method for determining the costs for supplying fire-fighting water. It is based on the analysis of 30 drinking water distribution systems of different sizes and structural characteristics. The evaluation of the results shows that the system related structural constraints and individual company decisions regarding security of supply levels have a strongly influence on the extra costs for fire-fighting water.