Frozen Pipes and Broken Water Mains:
A Winter Checklist from the Winterport Water District

To minimize the potential for frozen pipes, please take note of the suggestions below.

Before the next winter:

Disconnect and drain outdoor faucets, and shut them off inside.

Patch cracks and holes near pipes. When temperatures approach zero, wind can penetrate through a small opening and can freeze nearby pipes, even thought the room temperature is 70 degrees!

Insulate pipes in unheated garages and crawl spaces. Check insulation!~ Wet insulation freezes fast, making it worse than no insulation at all.

Make sure heat can circulate around pipes. Plumbing in an enclosed area such as a closet will freeze.

Pay attention to basement piping. Older furnaces lose enough heat to warm basements. Newer energy efficient models do not. Consider UL approved heat tapes!

Find and tag your inside water shutoff valve and make sure it works BEFORE an emergency arises. This will limit water damage should inside pipes burst.

If your pipes freeze.....

Don't use an open flame for thawing pipes. You risk overheating a pipe and causing it to burst or setting the house on fire.

Use a hair dryer at a low setting and wave the heat along the pipe.

Use caution. The pipe may already be broken, and water may pour out of the pipe when the pipe thaws.

 

If your line freezes outside.......

Call the Water District as soon as possible. We will remove the water meter and check for ice. Sometimes only the meter is frozen.

If the meter is not the problem, we will attempt to determine which side of the service the line is frozen on.

We may use our thawing equipment when available or you may choose to have a plumber attempt to thaw the line.

If the line is frozen on the customers side, it is the customers responsibility to pay the costs involved for the thawing. If the line is frozen. If the line is frozen on the districts side, then we are responsible for the thawing. If the freeze location cannot be determined, we will split the cost of thawing per Maine Public Utility Commission Regulations.

We respond to frozen service complaints in the order of which they are received, and other emergencies - such as broken water mains - may take precedence.
 

Homeowners Insurance

While we understand the frustration of folks whose property is damaged by flows from a water main break, the District is not liable for damages unless it can be demonstrated that we were negligent in maintaining the waterline. Some homeowners policies provide coverage for this type of damage while some do not. We suggest that that you check with your insurance agent BEFORE an emergency rises. Some companies also offer special riders to cover such occurrences. You may wish to consider this depending on your coverage.