McKee said the reason is because the city has dry barrel hydrants, meaning that the water inside of the fire hydrants is underground, not above ground. The shut-off valve is also below ground.

The Water Flow Solutions segment provides valves for water systems ... The Water Management Solutions segment offers dry-barrel and wet-barrel fire hydrants for water infrastructure development ...

“Over time those threads will seize and make it almost impossible to open.” Hydrant valves can also be damaged, parts can rust, the pipes feeding them can develop issues. In 2018, Cleveland ...