Trump Automotive, near Swirls on Division Avenue and Fourth Street SW had been without running water since Monday. Tyler Brosnikoff, one of the owners, holds the container they have used to bring water in for washrooms and hand washing.--NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
Trump Automotive & Accessory Ltd., near Swirls, has had frozen water pipes since Monday, said Steve Brosnikoff, one of the owners.
Employees have been hauling water for washrooms and hand washing so they can keep their doors open for business, said Brosnikoff, who believes the pipes are old cast iron. He says a nearby house that has also had frozen pipes.
The city has now received 315 calls about frozen water pipes and is taking up to three days to respond to each, said Brian Graham, manager field operations, environmental utilities. Calls are prioritized with residences and people with special needs given priority.
There are some cases where the city has had to return to a home two or three times because the pipes froze again, said Graham. Even when residents have been running a steady stream of water someone in the home inadvertently forgot and turned the tap off.
“It can take only 10 or 15 minutes to freeze up again,” said Graham.
The city says the best way to prevent freezing is to leave a tap running with a flow of about the width of a pencil and this should be done 24/7. The majority of calls about frozen pipes have been in older neighbourhoods.
In addition to running a tap, other steps can be taken to ensure there is sufficient heat for pipes inside the house, said Brian Murphy, general manager of environmental utilities. He says a typical year for the city would result in about 30 or 40 frozen pipes in winter so there has been a 10-fold increase in 2019.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Murphy.
Staff are working long shifts and additional resources have also been brought in, Murphy explained.
To assist people who are without running water the city has been providing an initial 20-litre jug. There are also three depots where water can be collected in containers, said Graham. These include the Family Leisure Centre, the Veiner Centre and Crestwood Pool. The FLC can also be used for showers.
The city now has seven thawing machines – the equipment used to thaw frozen pipes with steam. Graham says a member of staff suggested in February that three additional machines be ordered because of the colder weather. They arrived on Friday morning.
Even with slightly warmer weather during the day the threat of frozen pipes has not diminished, said Graham. Frost in the ground drives down about one or two inches a day.
“That is continuing because we haven’t had a bunch of snow … that acts as an insulating layer,” said Graham.
The soil on the surface is slowly warming up but it takes a long time for the ground, six feet down, to start doing so.
“We want at least two weeks with the temperature above freezing day and night and then we will probably say we are getting past it,” said Graham. “We are looking at a couple weeks yet.”
