SHENANDOAH - Employees of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah were busy Monday helping some of its water customers with frozen and broken water lines on their properties.
The more moderate temperatures, though still below freezing, were taking their toll on some water lines, with complaints coming from North Main, East Centre and East Lloyd streets.
"We've been having calls about some frozen water lines all around," Mary Lou Jaskierski, authority manager, said Monday.
She said rising temperatures can cause problems.
"Usually when it gets warmer, the lines can also freeze," Jaskierski said.
Jaskierski said service interruptions have not been due to water main breaks along the streets.
"All of the homes that we have been talking to have their lines frozen inside," Jaskierski said. "They have cold basements and drafts."
The Republican-Herald office in Shenandoah, located at 19 N. Main St., is among the buildings enduring serivce interruptions. Jaskierski said a work crew would be arriving to determine the cause of that problem. Meanwhile, a neighboring property did have water service.
"Our guys are going to get to it, but our guys are working on another water problem right now," she said, adding there were no other problems reported on Main Street.
"Some of the pipes are bursting on Lloyd Street. That's the problem," Jaskierski said. "In fact, that's where our guys are right now. They're in a vacant home where the pipes burst."
Jaskierski said that when the temperatures were much colder than Monday, there were no major problems.
"When the weather warms up there are problems with contracting and expanding," she said. "You usually get the problems on the warm-up."
Jaskierski said there are steps water customers can take to help prevent lines from freezing.
"They can choose to run their water to prevent freezing," she said. "It may cost a little more in their water bill, but it can prevent freezing. They can also try to get their basements a little warmer. Sometimes there's just a little area in the basement where you haven't had problems before. Also, they can wrap pipes coming into the home with insulation. Pipe insulation is reasonable. If pipes are frozen, contact a certified plumber."