WINNIPEG – City officials warn the frost is so deep in the ground, it could be well into summer before the risk of frozen pipes is over.
“It’s a little silly,” said Ross Cameron, who’s water pipes froze in March and he’s been using his neighbours water since.
This past weekend, Winnipeg temperatures rose into the double digits, but eight more properties had their water pipes freeze.
The city said it’s because Winnipeggers aren’t leaving a tap running to keep the water in the pipes moving and many lines are buried deep underground with the frost.
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There’s a small handful that were on the at risk list who chose to self evaluate and say ‘it’s warm out, I’m going to turn my tap off’ and they froze,” said Randy Hull, Winnipeg’s Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
Like Carter Berezay, who decided to turn his tap off last week after not having water for three months.
“It struck me that it’s not freezing at night and we use enough water and this isn’t going to freeze so we’re ok,” said Berezay.
But with frost still at least seven feet deep, more pipes could freeze well into June, a record that hasn’t been broken since July 1979.
“In fact there will be maybe one or two homes who will report frozen water lines when its 30 C in June,” said Hull.
The city said this winter has been a lesson.
Next year, officials will have at risk properties run their taps sooner, as soon as the frost hits the six to seven foot mark.
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