People Can Help Water System During Next Freeze

Fayette Water Supply Corporation (FWSC) General Manager Jim Rebecek said the water system experienced some frozen lines at its well in the Rutersville- Walhalla area as temperatures dipped into the teens just before Christmas. Crews were able to bypass the frozen lines.

He warned, however, that customers running their faucets during the freeze put a heavy strain on the system. Rebecek said longrange weather forecasts predict another round of cold weather for the first two weeks of February. Rebecek offered advice for water customers in case of a future freeze.

“The first thing people need to do is open all the doors to cabinets that have piping inside, like underneath sinks,” he said.

That way, the home’s heating system can keep the pipes warm and prevent them from freezing. “Always drip the faucet farthest from the meter so that you have water running through the whole system, instead of running five or six faucets,” Rebecek added. “If the water line tee’s off to a bathroom, pick one faucet and drip it instead of all of them at one time.”

During the recent freeze, Rebecek said FWSC crews monitored customer water meters to find major leaks. In some cases, they found meters that were flowing large volumes of water. Believing they found a leak, the crews informed the homeowners, only to discover that the homeowners were running several faucets wide-open.

“When you have that many meters on the system, it creates a big load when people run their faucets like that,” Rebecek said.

During a freeze, he advised customers to open their faucets to just a drip and not half-open or wide-open.