It's open today, a providence water truck just drove by and didn't stop. Seriously this is hundreds of gallons each time and we read about both water shortages and lack of funds. That and traffic is backing up because of the foot of standing water...

Providence Water has put hydrantlocks on most, if not all, the hydrants in Providence. This hydrant has been secured with the new lock.

The lock doesn't seem particularly effective as this hydrant was open for at least 3 hours yesterday. I suppose public safety is a requirement, so I think the only solution would be enforcement by the police or the providence housing authority since these are their tenants.

This is an ongoing issue. I've seen this hydrant open at least twice since mid-August.

IF these are PHA tenents you should call them and let them know the situation and keep calling until you get the situation resolved. They have rules that all tenents have to abide by or risk eviction.