Part of Hays County fights for water

WOODCREEK, Texas (KXAN) - Woodcreek is a small, quiet retirement community where the residents just slightly out number the deer. One day last summer, resident and city council member Erik Eskelund noticed the fire hydrants in his community were being painted black.

"Something was definitely wrong," said Eskelund. "It was kind of a shock when all of the sudden this happened."

Eskelund and other residents soon learned that the new paint meant fire hydrants were now off limits to the fire department.

"It never even crossed our mind that somebody would be cutting the water off," said Wimberley Fire Chief Carroll Czichos.

Czichos said he learned the private water company, Aqua Texas, painted the hydrants.

"They did what was their understanding of the law - so I can't fault them for that," said Eskelund.

The new law required owners of fire hydrants to paint them black if they are not functioning or unavailable. So, fearing liability, the water company simply painted all the hydrants.

"We had whole neighborhoods that didn't have fire protection and didn't have water source for our fire protection," said Chief Czichos.

Czichos and others helped broker a deal that will allow firefighters to use the hydrants, but Aqua Texas will not be liable if those hydrants do not function correctly.

"The biggest thing is- it lets us use the water that's in the hydrants," said Chief Czichos.

The deal procured between the Wimberley Fire Department and Aqua Texas could serve as a model for similar agreements between rural fire departments and private water companies across the state.