Winnipeggers fear repeat of last winter's frozen water pipe woes

Winnipeggers are beginning to fear a repeat of last winters widespread frozen water pipe woes.

The recent province-wide deep freeze has Winnipeggers likeDoug Mackiechecking theirtaps regularly to make surewater is still running.

"It's on my mind and it will be especially through this cold, cold weather," said Mackie.

Along with thousands of others, Mackie was left without water last winter due to frozen pipes.

The 74-year-old went three weeks without water last year. He hadfew other options but totake showers at a nearby pool and to dohis dishes at a local community centre.

And when nature called, the frozen pipesbred creativity, too.

"I started melting snow so I would at least have some toilet facilities." said Mackie.

Mackie hasn't started running his taps yet to keep them from freezing again.

The City of Winnipeg said Monday it has been monitoring conditions like frost depth associated with frozen pipes. If conditions get worse, the city said it will notify property owners at risk of developing freezing pipes to run their taps.

Pipes burst in 2 WRHA health centres

Some properties in Winnipeg have already been touched by the deep freeze.

• Pipes burst, flood second ACCESS Winnipeg health centre

Two Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) centres have flooded in the last two days due to frozen pipes.

The pipes at the ACCESS Winnipeg West health centre near the Grace Hospital froze and burst on Sunday;heating coils froze and burst at the ACCESS Downtown health centre early Monday afternoon.

The city said it isn't responsible for the ACCESS centres' pipes bursting, and maintains no municipal water pipes have burst yet this winter that it knows of.

How to keeppipes fromfreezing

The citysaid itlearned a lot fromlast year's pipe problems and is better equipped to deal with future freezes.

The city has advisedhomeowners keep areas with water pipes on theirproperty warm to prevent them from freezing.

Keeping homes heated above 12 C has also been suggested, as has keeping garage doors closed and having someone check in on the heat levels and plumbing in homes left unattended for more than a few days.

At Chocolatier Constance Popp in St. Boniface, staff are taking every precaution to ensure the store's pipes don't freeze like last winter.

Last year, the shop went for three months without water.

"For any small business in the city, it's really stressful, lots to think about," said Sarah Morton, who works at ChocolatierConstance Popp.

Last winter was the coldest Winnipeg had seen since 1898. This January and February have beenprojected to be more mild than those same months in 2014.