Talking To Customers About Frozen Pipes

By Sara Jerome
@sarmje

It's that time of year: Utilities in frosty regions have kicked off the season of "let-run" notices.

Utilities send out notices urging customers to let a trickle of water run from the faucet in order to prevent pipes from freezing. In a column about local government, Duke Behnke of Post-Crescent Media spoke to utility pros on this issue and gleaned some facts that may help facilities explain the practice to ratepayers.

How should the timing of a "let-run" notice be determined?

"The depth of the frost in the ground determines whether the Neenah Water Utility, and other utilities, will advise customers to keep a pencil-size stream of water flowing from an inside faucet to prevent pipes from freezing," Behnke wrote.

The depth of frost depends on two facts, he said: the duration and intensity of cold weather, and how much snow is present.

Kent Taylor, Neenah water utility director, says it is important for his utility to keep track of properties that are most prone to freezing. Those properties are monitored, he said.

"If lines begin to freeze up, the utility issues a 'Let Your Water Run' notice to the problem properties," the report said, citing Taylor.

How should utilities talk to customers concerned about cost?

Taylor explained how he breaks down the cost issue, noting that "2.3 million gallons of water was used to prevent freeze-ups during the 2014 notice, which extended from mid-February to mid-April," the report said. "The amount was less than two-tenths of a percent of the 1.39 billion gallons of water that the utility pumped last year."

The good news for customers in properties prone to frozen pipes: "The cost was absorbed by the water utility, meaning all customers paid a share, not just those affected by the notice."

Neenah is one among many Wisconsin cities that issued let-run notices last year, according to the report.

Melissa Rubin, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, offered a few additional tips about customers with concerns their pipes will freeze.

"Insulating water lines that are likely to freeze is the simple and inexpensive solution," she suggested, per WTAE.

Rubin said, “Many homeowners forget to shut off the valve inside your home that leads to an exterior water spigot. After you do that, open the spigot outside and put your garden hose away for the winter. Rubin also recommends covering the outside spigot with a Styrofoam cover," according to the report.

Donna Parlatore, a utility professional in New Milford, CT, explained the difficulties that may ensue if pipes do freeze.  According to Parlatore, director of utility operations for Aquarion, the result can be difficult to contend with.

"It doesn't take much. Even a tiny split in a pipe can spew hundreds of gallons of water into your home or business in one day," she said, per the New Milford Spectrum. "We strongly encourage property owners to review and utilize the frozen pipe and meter prevention tips on our website to prevent this from happening to them."

Image credit: "Burst pipes. January 1, 2015," Chris Sloan © 2015, used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

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