WINNIPEG – Winnipeg isn’t the only place fighting frozen water pipes but other communities are attacking the problem a different way.
The town of Carman only has one method of thawing pipes. It blasts hot water down frozen pipes to melt the buildup of ice.
“We can get six or eight done a day,” said Joe Richardson, Carman’s superintendent.
The made-in-Winnipeg system is also used to met ice in culverts and catch basins.
“It is just with a Hotsy hot water pressure washer,” said Richardson. “That’s all we use here.”
Similar systems are used in Selkirk and Brandon. In Brandon, the hot water is used when electricity can’t get the job done.
“At the end of the day, we know that after a period of time, we should have the service thawed and if we reached that threshold, we go to the backup,” said Rod Sage, the general manager of operational services for Brandon.
Edmonton and Chicago have also struggled with frozen pipes this year. They said they have had the most success with systems that use either hot water or steam.
Winnipeg has some of the hot water machines but they aren’t as heavily relied on.
“The issue is trying to get that snake through turns, bends and valves to get to the ice, so we are finding we use them, but historically they don’t have the far reach to the far side of the road,” said Randy Hull, the city’s emergency preparedness co-ordinator.
The system in Carman has a reach of up to 150 feet, Richardson said.
Hull said there could be differences in the infrastructure as well as ground soil makeup.
Some Winnipeggers waiting to have their pipes thawed said more should be tried.
“They have tried electrical three times and it hasn’t unfrozen yet,” said Stephanie Siemens, who has had frozen water pipes since Jan. 15. “That tells you it’s not working too efficiently.”
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