Freezing temperatures lead to bursting pipes in Chattahoochee Valley

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - “Columbus Waterworks had a busy weekend, responding to calls, we had approximately 600 calls this weekend,” says Columbus Water Works Vice President Vic Burchfield. That’s how many calls went to the Columbus Waterworks over the Christmas holiday. The reason for the calls? “Those calls were from customers experiencing no water because of freezing conditions,” says Burchfield.

Freezing temperatures can lead to bursting pipes, but there is a science behind frozen pipes. “When water is not moving through the pipes, and it’s completely still, as long as the water is moving, it’s not going to have the option to freeze,” says Plumber Joby Duncan.

This is why it is recommended to open cabinets, wrap your pipes to keep them warm during frigid temperatures, or allow your faucet to drip, especially if your pipes are not protected from an internal source. “There may be water lines and no heat source to that building, and even though you can insulate pipes, if it gets as cold as it has and there is not heat source, chances are those pipes are going to freeze. do they always burst? No,” says Duncan.

But if you have a pipe burst, you need also to turn off your water valve, which, if you are a Columbus Waterworks customer, they will do it for you. “When customers have a leak inside the house, they need to have the water turned off pretty quickly, so we had quite a few turn-offs,” says Burchfield. With several people having flooded homes, plumbers are also bombarded with calls after trying to help people through the Christmas holidays from a bursting pipe.

“We had our response teams ready to go, on-call staff we increased that personnel to make sure we had enough staff over the Christmas holiday weekend,” says Burchfield.

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