Fire hydrant maintenance and testing

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Fire hydrant maintenance

Hydrant markers:  Fire hydrant markers improve emergency response times and the safety of residents by making fire hydrants easier to locate in emergencies, at night and in snowy conditions; fire hydrant markers will no longer be seasonally removed and installed. The City of Ottawa maintains more than 23,000 fire hydrants, ensuring they are in operation for firefighters in the event of a fire. 

If a fire hydrant is located on your property, you are responsible for ensuring nothing obstructs access to the hydrant, as per Ottawa's Water By-law, as amended. Ensure vegetation around or near the hydrant does not impede access (e.g. landscaping, shrubs, trees, etc.).

If you spot a damaged or leaking hydrant, please call 3-1-1.

Be a Hydrant Hero! Keep fire hydrants clear of snow

We encourage you to be a hydrant hero this winter and keep your local hydrant clear of snow. Clearing 0.5 meters around a hydrant maintains access for our firefighters and helps them keep you, your family and your community safe.

Contractors are reminded to not pile snow over or against hydrants when clearing pathways and driveways in the winter.

If you are unable to clear the hydrant on your property, please call 3-1-1.

Receive your Hydrant Hero certificate!

To request your electronic Hydrant Hero certificate, please complete the form below. 

Hydrant Hero Certificate Request Form

Students can also request confirmation of their community involvement hours by contacting hydrants@ottawa.ca.

Yellow and blue hydrant with 1.5 metres of snow cleared around it.

Fire hydrant testing

Regular fire hydrant testing ensures the ability to assess the capacity of the infrastructure to deliver water for firefighting purposes. Fire Hydrant testing also operates to identify potential issues in the water distribution system like leaks, closed valves, or low-pressure areas.

Developers and Contractors can request assistance in operating a public hydrant for fire flow testing to gather data for designing fire sprinkler systems and determining required water flow for a building.

Impact to residents

While fire hydrant testing is considered routine maintenance, it may result in temporary inconveniences. The testing may disturb sediments in the water distribution system and may result in brown or rust-coloured water. Hydrant testing may also temporarily reduce water pressure. Your regular water pressure will return to normal when testing is complete.