City officials are hoping to avoid the glut of frozen water pipes experienced by Timmins residents last winter and the costs incurred with new ideas.
Norm Bruce, Public Utilities Manager, was on on hand Monday to present city council with his 2016 preparedness report.
The last few winters have been very tough on local waterlines.
The Water Distribution Department received 430 notifications of frozen water service in 2014 and 377 in 2015.
The report suggests that the city sent letters of notice in the fall of 2014 to all building owners known to the department. The letters advised landlords and tenants to keep water running constantly.
Letters will again be sent out advising owners and tenants to keep water running continuously, around the clock, from December 15 through May 30, 2016.
“When running your water, you need to run it at least a quarter of an inch. That much coming out of your tap, if its just dripping, its not enough” said Bruce.
The average cost to thaw a frozen water service was $588. The average cost was $4,360 when excavation was required.
The Public Works department has suggested a new $675 charge for anyone who has been notified to run their water, but requests a line thawing.
For those buildings that are not notified to run their water but do get a frozen water line, Public Works recommends that no cost be charged for the first time thawing but that the $675 would be charged for any subsequent thawing.
“We know that if you run your water sufficiently, it won't freeze” said Bruce.
In unfortunate scenarios, potable water will be made available to anyone in need if they bring containers to the Timmins Fire Department. Shower facilities will be made available at the Archie Dillon Sportsplex.
Councillor Noella Rinaldo thanked Bruce for his report, and noted how the city received a lot of help from local firefighters in last few winters, but insisted that a lot of work still needed to be done to avoid a repeat of last year.
“We're not really proactive in understanding where some of the citizens are coming from. If they were older, if they didn't know their neighbours to run the water from there. They weren't able to get water for their toilets. They weren't able to get out of their houses, let alone going to find containers to put water in, going to get the water and even lifting it” she said.
Rinaldo said she hoped that the Red Cross would be able to help the city come up with a 'very detailed' plan to assist those in the community who suffer significant negative impacts from water interruptions.
“Those with a lot of children, or small children, and some seniors found this extremely hard on them if they were out more than a day or two. I think the majority was a week or five days, and that's a long time” she said.
Bruce also mentioned how residents will not be charged if the city's main waterline freezes.
The issue will be back on the agenda next week when council will vote on implementing the recommendations.
