Before winter arrives with its freezing temperatures is a good time to think about your home’s water meter and plumbing. Frozen water meters and household plumbing can lead to minor inconvenience or major damage. Quite often, water meters and pipes are located in basements, crawl spaces and other unheated areas, where frigid temperatures could cause them to freeze. It is the responsibility of you, the customer, to protect the water meter and piping within your property from freezing. Should your water meter freeze and break from a failure to protect it, the Kittery Water District (KWD) will replace the meter and bill for the repairs. Should your service line or household plumbing freeze and break, it is the responsibility of the customer to contact a plumber and possibly a contractor to make repairs. The responsibility of the KWD begins at the water main and ends at the curb stop at the property line.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE:
- Make freeze protection a seasonal ritual. As the gardens are harvested and the lawn furniture is put away for the year, take time to protect your water service.
- Close all basement windows, doors and bulkheads. If you live in a trailer, be sure that the skirting is snugly in place. Prevent drafts where you find them.
- When and where possible, insulate exterior walls. Basement floors and walls are terrible culprits for radiating cold.
- Adding foam insulation to pipes can be a relatively easy and cost-effective means of protection.
- If your pipes and water meter are located in a closed cabinet, consider leaving the cabinet door open to allow warm air infiltration.
- When possible, maintain warm temperatures wherever plumbing is located, particularly if you are going to be away from home for any length of time. If you DO need to be away, ask a friend or family member to periodically check your home and open faucets to be sure that freeze ups have not occurred.
SHOULD PREVENTION FAIL AND THINGS FREEZE:
- Open a faucet in an attempt to get water flowing again and to avoid pressure from building.
- Consider using a hair dryer or heat lamp to slowly and gently warm the frozen section of pipe. Avoid excessive heat. Low and slow is the way.
- An open flame should NEVER be used to thaw a frozen pipe or meter. This is dangerous and may create a far worse situation.
- Should you be unable to thaw a frozen pipe, it may be time to call a reputable plumber. Having the name and number of a plumber on-hand will be a great timesaver and will afford some peace of mind. It may seem unnecessary, but having the names and numbers of multiple plumbers could be of great value should your first choice not be available. You will also want to have the phone number of the KWD (439-1128) should you need us to turn off the water at the street, in an emergency or to make repairs. After regular business hours, you can contact the Kittery Police Department (439-1638) and they can reach out to the KWD’s on-call Technician.
Hopefully prevention prevails and no-one experiences damage or inconvenience. Lets all enjoy a safe and happy winter!
