Photo by Jade Floyd.

The residents of Washington are no stranger to fire hydrant troubles. So when a DCist reader noticed that the hydrant in the photo to the right had been spewing water for some time, an email landed in our inbox.

“We want to know why the hydrant at 16th and Arkansas has been spewing out water day and night for the last 3 weeks,” Jade Floyd wrote. “It’s a waste.”

Good question! According to D.C. Water, the water is actually being drained on purpose. “We’re draining a 36″ main through that hydrant so we can fix a valve,” explains D.C. Water spokesperson Alan Heymann. “We can’t fix valves when the mains are pressurized and full of water.”

There are about 42,000 valves in the District, and Heymann explains that they are just as important to service as any other part of the infrastructure.

“We recognize that this looks like a big waste of water (on an especially hot day, no less),” Heymann wrote in an email. “But malfunctioning valves can also cause water loss and service outages.”