With temperatures below freezing the next several days, utility officials are reminding residents to take simple steps now to avoid damage.
Sparta Public Works Director Dillard Quick said water expands when it gets cold, increasing pressure inside pipes and raising the risk of a burst. He said letting a faucet drip is one of the best ways to prevent costly pipe damage in your home.
“Turn your faucet on at least in one of your bathrooms or kitchen areas to let it drip so moving water will go through there because when it stands, it just creates ice,” Quick said. “So if you have some moving water that goes through the pipe, chances are your pipe will not freeze.”
Quick said people should disconnect any water hoses during cold temperatures. Quick said leaving water hoses connected during cold temperatures is one of the big mistakes people usually make.
“Those water hoses that you use to wash your car and wash off everything outside, make sure you disconnect that from your hose pipe because there is still some water in that valve in the hose pipe that will freeze and burst, and when you turn that hose pipe on in the summertime, then you will flood that area,” Quick said. “That pipe, it will break that connection.”
Quick said if pipes are not correctly installed, they can be very vulnerable to bursting in cold temperatures.
“Most of the time its most vulnerable underneath your crawlspace because you don’t close those vents,” Quick said. “Another spot is outside to make sure that when someone puts your waterline in they put it in deep enough from the frost at least 16 inches in the ground. So if you have somebody come in and put in a new waterline, make sure that they at least put it 16 inches underground. If you are on the mountain, it’s two feet because that is where the frost line is.”
Quick said if your pipes do burst, he advises calling the local water department or, in some cases, the Public Works Department. Quick said they will turn the water meter off. However, Quick said a repair to the pipes would not be possible until the weather warms up.