WINNIPEG – Hundreds of businesses and homeowners who lost their water supply due to frozen pipes last winter are anxiously watching the forecast and hoping the city is better prepared this winter.
“We can’t control the weather, we can control how we react,” said Constance Menzies of Chocolatier Constance Popp, who said the most frustrating part was the lack of city equipment available to help thaw frozen pipes.
The St. Boniface shop owner went 80 days without a permanent water supply between March and May. A temporary line connecting her taps to her neighbour remains to this day.
“It doesn’t make any sense to take it down, because I believe if it happened once, it will happen again,” said Popp.
At its peak more than 2500 Winnipegers saw their pipes freeze last winter. The city called it ‘unprecedented’ due to record cold.
The city’s website says it plans to install frost depth monitors by the end of the year and that its added to its ‘inventory’ of thawing machines.
A report presented to committee earlier this year shows the city has added three hot water machines seven portable electrical thawing machines. But that the city is still working on augmented its primary DBH machines that worked best.
The city now says the crisis cost it more than $8 million dollars. Half of that was spent on overtime, equipment, materials and additional treatment. The remaining $4 million was spent on water bills. The city says 7.320 properties had to keep their water running because of the possibility of frozen pipes.
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