By Shelley Vaught, Office Manager - UJCWA

Winter Storm Uri is known by many names.  The Great Freeze, Snow-mageddon, Snow-pocalypse, and Ice-tastrophe are some of my personal favorites. But, when thinking back on the storm from the Water Authority point of view, I usually refer to it as, “Our Frozen Nightmare of 2021.”  Many camps were not properly winterized, resulting in large leaks that hindered the recovery of water tank levels.  This resulted in longer than expected outages, especially on our North System.

We are now looking at another significant cold air event that will sweep through our region on Thursday.  This will likely be the coldest air we have seen since Uri came through in February of 2021.  The intensity of this air mass along with the predicted duration will require preparations to water pipes and homes.  

Below are some suggested steps to protect your water pipes and fixtures:

If leaving town for the upcoming holidays, please shut off your hand valve that is installed on your side of the meter and drain pipes to prevent damage should they burst.

If you drain your pipes, do not forget to turn off the power to your water heater if it is electric and turn off the gas supply line to the water heater if it is a gas appliance.

Outdoors:

• Disconnect and drain all garden hose connections. (Store hoses in a garage or shed.)
• Shut off sprinkler systems and properly drain.
• Close outside vents, crawl spaces and doors so cold air doesn't seep inside.
• Wrap all hot and cold water lines and meters in commercial insulation. If commercial insulation is not readily available, items such as rags, pool noodles, trash bags, plastic foam, newspapers or even bubble wrap can add some protection.  Remember, the more insulation you use, the better protected your pipes will be!
• Locate your shut-off valve. UJCWA requires that you have at least one shut-off valve installed on your side of the meter, as close to the meter as possible.  (Use of the Authority's shut-off valve is prohibited.)
• Keep your garage door closed if there are water supply lines in or adjacent to it.
• Elevated homes require pipe protection from the ground to the entry point of the structure.

Indoors:

• You may want to drip the hot and cold water inside your house.  You will be billed for the water used but this procedure may help prevent more costly plumbing repairs resulting from broken pipes.
• If a sink is located on an outside wall, open the cabinet doors overnight to allow warm air to reach water pipes. If you choose to do this, remove harmful cleaners and chemicals and move them out of the reach of children.

If a pipe does burst, turn off the water supply to your home and call a licensed plumber for repairs.

Conservation Note:  Use containers to catch the water drips and trickles. Then, reuse the water for household chores like watering plants or cleaning.