A total of 889 properties have dealt with frozen pipes so far this winter, and as the cold weather continues, city-owned pipes have seen the biggest spike over the past few weeks.
About 46 city-side pipes have had to be thawed since last Friday, according to the latest report from the city, bringing the totals up for the winter to 90 for city pipes.
Despite that, a record-breaking frozen-pipe-call day and the city’s unusual cold this winter, the frozen pipe numbers are trending much the same as last year.
“City crews are attending to five to 10 new underground (City side and property side) water pipe freezes every day, and reports are being responded to within 24 hours,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Global News.
“It’s important to note that while sudden cold can cause internal pipes to freeze, frozen underground pipes are more influenced by sustained cold weather, as they are primarily a result of frost depth in soil.
“We normally start to see the number of underground frozen pipes increase later in winter.”
So far, 652 properties have dealt with frozen internal plumbing, 147 pipes on the property-owners’ side have frozen, and 90 have frozen on the city’s portion of pipes.
The numbers should slow as the weather warms up, although the forecast calls for below-average temperatures through the end of next week.
Those who may be dealing with frozen pipes can call a plumber, call 311 or try to thaw the pipes themselves. Instructions on how to do that can be found here.
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