E.K. gets water-resource centre

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This article was published 21/03/2014 (3291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City officials opened a third resource centre Thursday for people with frozen waterlines.

The opening came as the city showed a steep decline in the number of additional properties reporting frozen pipes during the previous 24 hours.

The city set up a frozen-pipe citizen-resource centre at Elmwood-Kildonans Pool, 909 Concordia Ave.

Similar to the operations set up earlier this week at the Cindy Klassen Recreation Complex and the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre, the E.K. citizen-resource centre offers residents personal hygiene kits, access to showers, potable-water refill stations and 311 assistance on getting temporary hose connection.

“Every citizen whose water service has been interrupted matters and they deserve all the support we can offer right now,” said Randy Hull, the city’s emergency-preparedness co-ordinator.

The city also released its latest numbers, with 36 additional properties reporting frozen pipes between Wednesday and Thursday — the lowest one-day increase since the city began releasing the daily updates.

Hull said the steep decline is probably indicative of the preventative measures the city has been advising property owners to take in at-risk areas — to run a single cold water tap 24 hours daily to prevent waterline freezes.

“It appears preventative measures taken by the at-risk properties have resulted in a reduction in the number of properties that fall victim to the extreme frost penetration into Winnipeg soil,” Hull said.

There have been 2,088 properties since November reporting frozen pipes.

Full service was restored to another 11 properties between Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the total to 763.

The number of properties waiting for thawing climbed by 25 from Wednesday to Thursday, to a total of 1,325.

The city was able to provide temporary water service, with a hose connection to a neighbour, to another 32 properties, for a total of 556.

With the temperature expected to dip over the weekend, the city is advising people with temporary hose connections to insulate the exterior taps.

The city is suggesting old towels be wrapped around the taps of the property providing the water and the property receiving the water.

If the hose lines freeze, turn off the supplier’s tap and contact 311.

If the outside tap is frozen, the city suggests pouring hot water or wrapping hot wet towels around the tap.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca