Temporary water hoses could freeze this weekend

WINNIPEG – City officials are urging residents to keep an eye on their temporary hose lines as the temperature is set to drop again this weekend.

Carter Berezay has one of the 579 temporary hoses pumping water from his neighbour’s house to his.

If Berezay’s hose freezes like his pipes have, he will have no running water, something that’s a real possibility on this first weekend of spring when the temperature is set to plummet again.

“We’ve got the tap running and we’re going to keep it that way. Probably turn it up a bit. 25 below, it’s going to make a mess,” said Berezay.

Keeping a tap running is just one of the precautions the city is urging residents to take to prevent exterior taps from freezing. Without the constant flow, the hose will freeze with overnight temperatures well below zero.

Insulating the hose by wrapping a towel around the taps is another tip, something Elmwood resident Michael Melnyk did on Monday after his hose froze numerous times.

“We wrapped it around and tied it up tight and wrapped towels over top and around the hose,” said Melnyk.

Even after insulating your hose tap with a towel there is still the chance it could freeze. The city also has tips on what to do if that happens.

“If they do find that they do freeze up they can run their own warm water, some boiled water over those connections and see if they thaw,” said Randy Hall, the city’s emergency response coordinator.

With about 80 hoses freezing last weekend, the city said if it gets really cold again this weekend, they’ll increase the number of workers on hose restoring duty.