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Power To Save: Keeping Water Flowing, Not Frozen

LUZERNE COUNTY — There’s not much worse than working with water in the cold, except of course when there’s no water at all. “Right now, we’re seeing...

LUZERNE COUNTY -- There’s not much worse than working with water in the cold, except of course when there’s no water at all.

"Right now, we’re seeing a lot of customers call in with no water.  Typically it’s because their services are frozen, whether it’s frozen at the meter or inside the house,” said Pennsylvania American Water Director of External Affairs Susan Turcmanovich.

Pennsylvania American Water officials say cold temperatures can cause meters to freeze or, even worse, cause pipes to burst.

Earlier this month, cold temperatures caused homes and businesses to flood, water gushing from broken pipes.

In Ashley, Tracy Grosz called the water company, afraid of what winter had done.

"We were afraid that it was frozen from the outside but it’s not, it’s an inside problem, so we’ll just wait for the plumber," said Grosz.

With plenty of frigid winter weather days ahead, Pennsylvania American Water officials say there are some steps you can take inside your homes to prevent your pipes from freezing.

First, find out where your main water shut off is located in case a pipe ever does burst.

Protect exposed pipes with insulation.

Open cabinets to let warm air reach pipes against cold exterior walls.

For those extremely cold nights, officials suggest leaving a trickle of water running.

"A small trickle of water coming out of your pipe is going to be less expensive than damage that could be caused by a potentially frozen pipe," said Turcmanovich.

In Dunmore, crews were working in the cold installing new lines and Rosar Cantafio says he and his son have insulated the pipes that run inside.  They hope it prevents any pipes bursting.

"It’s a disaster because most of the times if it’s copper they crack.  And you have water all over, you got to shut the water off," said Cantafio.

For more tips on keeping water flowing, not frozen click on the links below.

Pennsylvania American Water Facebook page

Pennsylvania American Water on YouTube

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