Coweta Fixes Pipe Bursts, Water Damage Expert Gives Tips To Protect Home From Cold

Water restrictions are over Wednesday night in Coweta after below freezing temperatures caused pipes to burst in several neighborhoods.

People are concerned about more problems as we face below-zero temperatures next week.

The city says it was able to fix all breaks within about 15 hours, but a pipe burst in a home could leave damage that may take weeks to fix.

Below-freezing temperatures are here in Green Country, and over the next few days, those numbers will only get lower, which could lead to significant problems with residential water pipes.

A problem many people in Coweta experienced today after the city says several pipes burst overnight.

It’s something Nicole Smith with 1-800-Water-Damage says she sees every year, and repairs can be costly.

“If you’re looking at a water loss in your home, it can be anywhere, I mean, on the low end, $1,200 to probably 5, $6,000 just for a mitigation,” Smith said.

To avoid shelling out thousands of dollars for repairs – Smith recommends being proactive.

As temperatures creep below freezing, Smith says running a slow stream of warm water will keep pipes from freezing.

“You really want to focus on the ones on outside walls. Anything interior should have the heat from the home,” Smith said.

If a pipe does burst, Smith says knowing where and how to shut off water quickly could be the difference between a couple of hundred dollars in repairs to a few thousand.

“They need to get outside now and find their shutoff valves,” she said.

Smith says marking the shutoff valve with something like a flag or pole can be helpful in case the valve gets covered with snow.

“It’s definitely worth getting out there now, especially tomorrow. The weather is going to be beautiful tomorrow. Everybody should be prepping,” Smith said.