Adequate water for fire protection in a private lake development remains a concern of a Nesquehoning fire official.

On Wednesday, John McArdle, Nesquehoning Hose Company fire chief, asked council to send a letter to the Lake Hauto Club asking them to have divers inspect the dry hydrants.

Councilwoman Mary Fox asked if there was ever any headway made with the Lansford-Coaldale Joint Water Authority regarding the water lines in the development. The current lines are antiquated and smaller than the recommended lines to allow for adequate water pressure for fighting fires.

Fox asked how it went with a recent fire on the lake, which resulted in the loss of a home.

McArdle said that fire was on the Schuylkill side of the lake so he didn’t have all details, but with the close proximity of the home to the lake, crews used one fire hydrant and the dry hydrant could have been used.

Fox said she asked if the water authority ever applied for grants to replace the water lines, and McArdle said they have been telling the borough that they were for years and nothing has come about with the matter.

He added that the authority was also looking to put a line in the newer section, but that wouldn’t solve the problem because the water comes in from the other end of the development.

The fire hydrant system at Lake Hauto has been a source of concern for several years.

McArdle said that it was initially installed in the 1940s when the development only had small vacation homes and cabins.

Over the years, the lines have not been upgraded as the homes have grown to multimillion dollar houses.

He also noted that scaling inside the pipes over the years has also lessened water pressure and the Lansford-Coaldale Water Authority, which oversees the water lines, says it has no money to replace the full system and bring it up to size.

“But yet the fire protection for people over in the Lake Hauto area are hampered because we have fire hydrants that produce water, but they’re not adequate to fight fire.”

To try to help, dry hydrants had been installed at the three beaches as well as Birch Pools, but depending on the location of a fire, these hydrants may not be usable.

“We’ve tried to get answers and tried to push this, but we really don’t hear much back from the people of Lake Hauto and the Lansford-Coaldale Water Authority,” McArdle said.