Published February 9, 2011

Universal Hub posts photo after photo of Boston fire hydrants covered in snow. We received a handful of reports of blocked hydrants on our map of unshoveled sidewalks.

Besides the public-safety risk, it can be infuriating when you’re ticketed for parking in front of an invisible hydrant.

UHub reporter Lexis Galloway tried to figure out whose job it is to dig out hydrants. It turns out the answer is nobody:

Although the Boston Water and Sewer Commission and the Boston Fire Department are responsible for making sure hydrants actually work, there’s no law regulating who has to keep them clear after snowstorms, Boston Fire spokesman Steve MacDonald said.

In an interview with Universal Hub, MacDonald said that while firefighters shovel what they can, there’s only so much they can do in a winter like this. “We have to rely on the owners and neighbors to take care of shoveling the hydrants out,” he said.

The city helped organize a volunteer dig-out in Charlestown last weekend, which may be the best solution for now. You can report blocked hydrants to the Mayor’s Hotline.