"Baby, It's Cold Outside. . . ."

And it may affect more than our comfort when we are outside.

Due to the extreme cold that the area experiences during the winter months, frost covering the City is able to penetrate deeper into the ground and reach some water service lines. When the frost reaches these depths, it is able to freeze the water and service lines, which can prevent residents from having access to water.

A frozen service line can be costly to homeowners who must then call a plumber to thaw their exterior service line. Residents who have experienced this problem in the past may be at risk again. The City urges these residents to turn on one faucet in their home and leave it running at a trickle, with the water stream no wider than a pencil. This will allow the water to flow through the pipes, which will prevent it from freezing. In extreme cases, if frozen exterior service lines are left untreated, they can cause pipes to burst in a residential home.

This problem is particularly prevalent in vacant homes that have not had their pipes properly winterized. By allowing the home's plumbing to remain active while not heating the home, the property owner is taking a significant risk that the pipes will not freeze. Proper precautions must be taken in these dwellings to ensure the integrity of the unit's plumbing system.

If a resident experiences a water outage caused by freezing pipes, they should contact the Public Works Department at 815-356-3614.