An Urban Geyser in Pleasant Ridge
In the Cincinnati neighborhood of Pleasant Ridge, a dislodged fire hydrant lead to the appearance of an urban geyser.
I was sitting at my desk, going through my draft folder, seeing if I had any stories ready for this website. Nothing was quite as developed as I wanted it to be, nor did I have anything shot recently that might make a quick frames post. It was nice outside, but not quite warm or sunny enough for any incentive to go out and knock something off the ongoing “to-do” list of places and potential stories to document. As I was about to give up and cede my afternoon to laundry and taxes, my friend Matt shot me a text:
“Oakley fire hydrant blew up, just drove past,” it said with a picture attached of water spraying into the air.
I figured the incident would be over by the time I got there, but at only seven minutes away, I had to go look. The water incident turned out to be in nearby Pleasant Ridge and the story according to a mix of police, firefighters, and residents at the scene seemed to be:
- Last night or early this morning (March 11, 2018), a vehicle hit the fire hydrant at the corner of Woodmont Ave. and Woodford Rd. The driver did not stick around.
- CPD was aware of the hit and skip, tagged the hydrant with caution tape and notified Greater Cincinnati Waterworks.
- The hydrant was slightly leaking, but at some point this afternoon: “something changed.” Water began gushing out of the ground. The hydrant was about 20 ft. away, in the gutter.
- The nearest house’s occupants were out of town. No word on if their home has been flooded.
- CFD and Waterworks were opening nearby sewer caps and using tools to “relieve pressure” according to one person. After I had been there for approximately an hour, the water ceased.
Photographs and video of the scene:
Video: