Two new cases of frozen pipes were reported today where water was not running over the weekend. Please run water. A pencil width will fill a five gallon bucket every hour. If you live in a building with multiple occupants, only one unit should run water.

We have thawed all but nine properties today. We determined two of those are not City issues. We started with 23 and are down to seven. We believe we can address most of the issues this week. Unfortunately, frost will continue to work deeper into the ground this week.

Most of the City’s water mains are between five and six feet deep – as is the frost line. As the temperatures moderate next week, we will be taking folks who are in areas with particularly deep mains off of the programs and reducing the recommended stream to a trickle for the rest of us. Our concern is that we have limited knowledge about the exact depth of many of our old main lines because they were installed over fifty years ago and no records were kept.

The Freezemageddon Challenge is on the website. We are looking for ways to reuse at least some of the running water. Prizes for most practical, most creative, best idea from a teen, and best idea from a person under thirteen. We will post lots of ideas as we get them. Even if we can reuse ten gallons per unit - that will help.
Finally, the Fire Department will be open from 6 to 9 every night this week for water. They also have buckets compliments of Sherwin Williams on Williston Road in South Burlington.

THANK YOU OF THE DAY:

Public Works – Pete Wernsdorfer (Director), Jay Nadeau (Water Resources Manager), Joe Shaw (Operations Manager), Steve Woodworth (Mechanic), Brian Latulippe (Lead Plow and Truck Driver), Guy Labelle (Plow Driver), Tyler Walton (Plow Driver), Chris Allis (Truck Driver and Sidewalk Plow Operator) and Ricky L’Ecuyer (Downtown Sidewalks).

These folks have been working long hours getting a handle on the freezing condition, helping to repair broken water mains, and keeping the streets and sidewalks plowed.

Equity Matters

Feb 4, 2025, 6 to 7:45 PM

Magic Building - Public Input Meeting

Feb 4, 2025, 6:30 to 8 PM

Creating Community with Color

Feb 5, 2025, 9 AM to 12 PM