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LARM Member News

Warning! Tips to prevent pipes from freezing

No one wants to deal with the mess and damage in buildings as a result of broken water pipes. With extremely cold temperatures predicted to extend through the weekend - take steps to keep a broken water pipe disaster from happening in your municipal buildings by doing the following:

1. Keep the temperature in buildings at least 65 degrees when outside temperatures are below 0 degrees. It may be tempting to set the heat lower to save energy but burst pipes negate any savings.

2. If you haven't done so already, seal up windows and doors where there may be cold air leaking in. You may need to remove ceiling tiles to provide for better circulation of warm air.

3. Check city buildings throughout the weekend to make sure the HVAC is working properly so if there is a broken pipe, the problem can be mitigated quickly rather than having the water running through a building unabated for hours.

4. You may want to put low-temperature alarms in buildings so that you get an alert if the temperature drops unexpectedly.

5. Portable heating devices should not be used in buildings unattended.

6. Let water trickle from faucets that are served by exposed or vulnerable pipes.

(photo taken at the Howells City Park)