Bitter Cold = Water Main Break
7 Feb 2026 11:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ursulas_alcoveI have been expecting a water problem. What I didn't expect was temperatures to go much lower than predicted. Last night was suppose to go down to 2 degrees F (-16.7 C). It went much further down because well after sunrise, it was -3 F (-19.4 C). I don't know what the low actually hit. Our low happens at 5 am and I am not getting out of bed for that.
We have a heater on our intake pipes. It cost us double our normal electric bill to run it. Also the solar panels don't do much in winter in our location. They only produced 52 kWh over a 30 day period. Inside the house, we were fine. We have water pipes on exterior walls with no insulation. All the cupboard doors are kept open to prevent problems. We've lived here 30 years. No problems on our end.
The water company alerted us at 7 am that there was a water main break and a boil alert. I got an automated email, a text and a phone call. The boil alert will last for 48 hours at the present time. We have two more bitter cold nights predicted before it warms up.
My only regret is that I would like a shower. Theoretically I can "bathe" but I won't. I have so many cuts from winding yarn that I just don't want an infection. Yes, it's that pinky tensioning thing - knitting, weaving, winding all get tensioned by the left pinky finger. I have other scratches from dry itchy skin. I will wait to shower, do dishes or do laundry.
I have bottled water both for washing hands and for drinking. I'm hearing trucks outside, maybe the break is on our street? I know there is a natural spring under the water pipe down the way. Every time a utility digs, you can hear them say, "aw, shit". It could be entertaining, but I'll stick to watching my birds at the feeder. Yesterday we had 10 mourning doves, plus the flock of juncos, song sparrows, house finches, and the two sets fighting cardinals. None have clocked on to the fact that there is a second feeder in the front yard.
That's entertainment!
We have a heater on our intake pipes. It cost us double our normal electric bill to run it. Also the solar panels don't do much in winter in our location. They only produced 52 kWh over a 30 day period. Inside the house, we were fine. We have water pipes on exterior walls with no insulation. All the cupboard doors are kept open to prevent problems. We've lived here 30 years. No problems on our end.
The water company alerted us at 7 am that there was a water main break and a boil alert. I got an automated email, a text and a phone call. The boil alert will last for 48 hours at the present time. We have two more bitter cold nights predicted before it warms up.
My only regret is that I would like a shower. Theoretically I can "bathe" but I won't. I have so many cuts from winding yarn that I just don't want an infection. Yes, it's that pinky tensioning thing - knitting, weaving, winding all get tensioned by the left pinky finger. I have other scratches from dry itchy skin. I will wait to shower, do dishes or do laundry.
I have bottled water both for washing hands and for drinking. I'm hearing trucks outside, maybe the break is on our street? I know there is a natural spring under the water pipe down the way. Every time a utility digs, you can hear them say, "aw, shit". It could be entertaining, but I'll stick to watching my birds at the feeder. Yesterday we had 10 mourning doves, plus the flock of juncos, song sparrows, house finches, and the two sets fighting cardinals. None have clocked on to the fact that there is a second feeder in the front yard.
That's entertainment!
no subject
Date: 7 Feb 2026 06:34 pm (UTC)duct tape is your friend
or layers of masking tape
or moleskin to prevent yarn/needle injuries
great for calluses too
the birds were dive bombing the feeder
think they're off to somewhere with sun