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Freeland Residents Go Days Without Water

LUZERNE COUNTY — Even as the temperature outside trickled just above freezing, there are still plenty of people dealing with frozen pipes. It has not been...
freeland water 2-22-15

LUZERNE COUNTY -- Even as the temperature outside trickled just above freezing, there are still plenty of people dealing with frozen pipes.

It has not been an easy couple of days for people like Jason Hopeck of Freeland.

"Wednesday when I came home from work, [my] normal routine is putting my dogs out and giving them water. But I had no water," said Hopeck. "After seeing one faucet completely bone dry, I checked the other faucets in my house and no water anywhere."

Like nearly two dozen in Freeland at one point, Hopeck's lateral pipe froze. The lateral pipes are the lines that go from the water mains to people's houses.

As a result, it's the little things Hopeck said he misses the most.

"Taking a shower and doing simple things like doing the dishes," Hopeck explained. "I haven't been really cooking much because the dishes I make I can't even clean up after."

His story is similar to the more than a dozen people who are still without water in their homes as they wait for crews to get the flow moving again.

"I've had no water since Thursday," said Tiffany Yeick of Freeland. "I'm done. I'm so done. We actually started calling realty companies because we're thinking about moving out of Freeland."

"Never seen a winter this bad," said Bob Kuklis, Freeland Municipal Board member. "We've had them before, but not freeze ups like this. It's an unusual winter."

According to Kuklis, the struggle for crews is dealing with the snow on top of the frozen ground, which makes it an even bigger challenge when it comes to finding where they need to fix.

Kuklis said if you're a lucky one with water and want to stay that way, just keep a drip of water the size of half a pencil going.

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