Winnipeg, MB. - Over the past week, significant progress has been made in thawing frozen pipes and restoring water service to the City's customers affected by frozen water services.
While 29 new reports of frozen pipes were reported from Thursday, April 17 to Friday, April 25, more than 150 properties had pipes thawed, and the number of customers without any water service to their homes dropped by 134, down from 446 to 312 as of this morning. There are also still 807 properties with a City-installed temporary hose line currently in place.
While most properties can use a temporary hose line to provide a safe, reliable source of potable water (which can be used for drinking, washing dishes, doing laundry, bathing, flushing toilets, etc.), there are some properties that don't have temporary hose lines. Our current focus for thawing pipes is on these customers who do not have water. All properties with a hose line will be thawed once service is restored to properties where hose lines aren't possible.
Last week, the City delivered notices to customers who, at that time, still had no water supply. The notices reminded citizens of the potential option of having a temporary hose line, as well as options for obtaining water at Fire Paramedic stations if a hose line is not an option while awaiting thawing. The notice also reminded them of the three Citizen Resource Centres as sources for information, water and other assistance, and explained the different methods the City can use in a thaw attempt.
This week, notices are being mailed out to properties where temporary hose lines are currently providing a safe, reliable source of potable water. These notices provide important reminders and information such as:
A recommendation that residents occasionally check if the water pipe has thawed
As temperatures become milder, some pipes may thaw on their own (e.g., pipes that are frozen on property owner’s portion of the pipe). To check if a pipe has thawed, residents are asked to:
- Open the lid on the water meter. The meter is usually in the basement or crawl space. It will have a sweep hand, like the hand on a watch or clock. It may also have a triangular red dial.
- If either the sweep hand or the red dial is moving, water is likely flowing through the pipe.
- Turn off the outside tap.
- Open a cold water tap inside the property. If the resident finds they have running water, the water pipe has thawed.
- If the resident does not have running water, they are asked to turn the outside tap back on.
If the water pipe has thawed
- Turn off the outside tap and notify neighbour to do the same.
- Contact 311 to let us know that thawing service is no longer needed, and to arrange for us to disconnect and pick up the hose line.
- Provide the Utility Billing Centre with a water meter reading. The supplying neighbour should be advised to do the same.
To prevent the pipe from freezing again
Because frost is still quite deep in the ground, even if the pipe has thawed, there is risk that it could freeze again. As a result, we recommend these affected properties leave one cold water tap inside the property running at a trickle all the time. The trickle should be about as thick as a drinking straw, about enough to fill a four-litre pail (e.g., ice cream) in four minutes.
To prevent water damage while the cold tap is running continuously
Please ensure that the water is draining at all times.
When the risk of freezing water pipes is over
We will notify affected customers when it’s time to stop running water. This could be as late as the middle of June, depending on the weather.
This notice also reminds citizens that, if they provide us with two meter readings (one at the time the resident becomes aware that their water pipe has thawed and they start running water continuously, and another when we advise the customer to stop running water), they will not have to pay for the water loss caused by leaving the tap running.
The City is committed to continuing direct communication by phone, hand-delivered notices or mailed notices to residents affected by frozen water pipes, to provide information and service during the frozen pipes emergency.
This year, Winnipeg has experienced a sudden and dramatic increase in frozen water pipes due to prolonged periods of frigid temperatures and deeper-than-usual frost penetration into the ground. This is Winnipeg’s coldest winter since 1898 and the frost is currently at an average of about eight to nine feet below pavement surfaces.
For more information about frozen pipes, please visit winnipeg.ca/frozenpipes