2-4-14 frozen water pipes keep fdl water utility busy

The January deep freeze is keeping the Fond du Lac Water Utility busy.  Manager Kathy Scharf says several residents have called to report  they don’t have water because of frozen pipes in their homes or

frozen water service lines to their homes.  "In the last two or three days we've been getting a number of calls. This morning we probably got five or six from people that have no water,'  Scharf told AM 1170 WFDL's Between the Lines program.  Scharf says the city mailed letters in December to about 160 property owners

with shallow water service lines asking they run a thin stream of water continuously to prevent frozen pipes.  The city will credit the homeowner for the water that’s used.  She says the city uses two methods to thaw frozen pipes.  "We have a steamer that we can take the meter out of the house and try to steam the line going out to street, or we'll get a welder in and hook an electrical charge to two ends of  this pipe,"  Scharf said.