Winnipeg residents waiting for city notification continue to run taps

WINNIPEG – Some homeowners in the Wildwood Park neighbourhood say they’re still running their taps out of fear their pipes will freeze.

The City of Winnipeg put out a notice on Wednesday saying residents can stop running their taps to prevent frozen pipes, but some say they’re waiting until they get a notification letter in the mail.

Gord Pizey and Linda Ladyman, who live in houses on a block where multiple homes had frozen pipes last winter, both said the letters from the city that instructed them to start running their taps also said they’d receive a second letter when it was time to turn off the water. The Wildwood residents are afraid to turn off the taps before that letter arrives.

Others in the area said they’ve stopped running their water, but they want to know when they’ll get corrected water bills.

The Ladymans received a $1,500 water bill but were told to just pay what they’d usually pay over the same period – about $200.

Linda Ladyman said she hopes the city will honour its promise not to charge residents for water they’ve run to prevent frozen taps, but she’s not confident about it.

The city said Wednesday that notices would be sent out over the next few business days, telling the people at the approximately 10,000 affected households to turn off the water.

The city hasn’t received any new reports of frozen pipes since June 6 and workers haven’t found frost in excavations made under pavement since June 19, said Tim Shanks, manager of water services.

There were still 13 properties with frozen pipes on Wednesday, but they all had site-specific conditions that contributed to the problem, Shanks said.

“This group includes properties that are vacant that we can’t gain access to confirm whether the pipe is still frozen, and properties that have unique plumbing or pipe-related issues where thawing has not been successful and further investigating is required to rule out other possible causes of no water,” Shanks said in a news release Wednesday.

More than 2,500 properties reported frozen pipes during a winter when extreme cold sent frost deep into the ground below Winnipeg.