A frozen pipe on the exterior of a home in Medicine Hat last March. With an extreme cold warning in effect in Medicine Hat, the city is reminding people to do their part to prevent water lines from freezing. - CHAT News file photo

By Charles Lefebvre

Frozen pipes

Residents reminded to help prevent pipe freezing during cold weather

Jan 13, 2020 | 4:42 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — In 2019, a record cold February and March saw 485 calls for frozen water service around Medicine Hat.

Now, with an extreme cold warning in effect for the region, the city is reminding residents to do their part to prevent your pipes from freezing.

“Last time this year, we’ve already had several weeks of frozen temperatures, this year we’ve been quite fortunate, it’s only started to get cold now,” said Brian Graham, manager of field operations with the city’s environmental utility department. “But, my advice to residents is to start thinking about how to prevent the actual water services from freezing in the first place.”

Last year, repairs to water lines cost the city $416,000.

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Graham says the city will be out in neighbourhoods that were impacted last year by frozen pipes, handing out pamphlets to educate people on how to prevent lines from freezing.

He says prevention is key to help avoid a costly fix later.

“The main thing people can do is make sure they’ve got heat in the basement where the actual water service comes into the house,” he said. “If you’ve got any windows there, make sure they’re insulated and the actual windows are closed. If you have a location where you can actually put some electric or gas fired heating in there, that helps the actual water service from getting too cold and starting to freeze.”

If no water is coming through your taps, it’s likely the water lines have frozen. You should call a plumber or the city’s environmental utilities department at 403-529-8176 for assistance to thaw out your water lines.

Graham says the city hasn’t responded to any frozen pipe calls this year.