Knox Water Department to Add Hydrants, Begin Brown Circle Water Line Switchover

The City of Knox will soon have a couple of new fire hydrants. Water Superintendent Todd Gardner met recently with Knox-Center Township Fire Chief Kenny Pfost to discuss the placement of hydrants on Prettyman Street.

They agreed to add one on the corner behind the White House Motel and at the corner of Ellis and Prettyman Streets behind Burger King, the BP station and Ladybug Cleaners. Gardner says the department will repurpose a hydrant from another location to save some money. He estimates the additions will cost the city a $14,300 but says they will improve fire protection for residents and businesses.

Gardner also told the Knox Board of Works Wednesday that crews will start connecting homes in Brown Circle to the existing 6 inch water line. A contractor will go into the homes and move the plumbing from the back to the front.

The homes are all on a 2.5 inch galvanized line that was run in the 1950s to accommodate trailer housing for Kingsbury Ordinance Plant employees during the Korean War. Homes built in the neighborhood in the 1960s used that line, and very few switched over to the larger one when it was put in.