Unauthorized fire hydrant use scrutinized in La Crosse’s city hall

Traditionally, just about anyone could use a fire hydrant as a water source in La Crosse.

The water utility would supply a meter and a backflow valve and then you could have at it.

La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat, however, wants to discontinue the practice altogether.

New penalties appear to be on the way for unauthorized use of the hydrants, primarily because they sometimes end up broken. Those repair costs can get up to $3,000.

The city has long allowed contractors and others to use fire hydrants as a water source for doing everything from keeping down dust at a construction site to filling skating rinks. But, not more.

The city’s water utility is considering new rules that could lead to tickets written to those that use the hydrants without permission or damage them.

Those penalties could include surrounding fire departments, which have been known to tap city hydrants without permission to do training.

Something that might impact how the city’s parks department floods its ice skating rinks.