A Message from City of Wildwood Water Utility
Property owners are responsible for maintenance of the water service line from the curb to the house, as well as any in-home piping. Wildwood Water Utility encourages customers to be mindful of the following tips and take the necessary precautions as we enter the winter season:
To prepare now:
· Check sprinkler or irrigation systems. Make sure you have turned everything off and fully drained the systems.
· Identify your home’s freezing points. Check your home for pipes in areas that may be prone to freezing, such as crawl spaces, unheated rooms, basements, garages and exterior walls.
· Know the location of the main water shut-off valve. If a pipe freezes or bursts, shut off water immediately.
· Protect your pipes. Customers are encouraged to wrap exposed pipes with insulation or use electrical heat tracing wire; newspaper or fabric might also work. Prevent pipes from freezing. If you have pipes that are vulnerable to freezing, allow a small trickle of water to run overnight to keep pipes from freezing. Capture this in a container for watering indoor plants and other uses.
· Open cabinet doors to expose pipes. Opening cabinet doors exposes pipes to warmer room temperatures to keep them from freezing.
If pipes freeze, you should:
· Shut off the water immediately. Don't attempt to thaw frozen pipes unless the water is shut off. Freezing can often cause unseen cracks in pipes or joints.
· Apply heat to the frozen pipe by warming the air around it, or by applying heat directly to a pipe. You can use a hair dryer, space heater or hot water. Be sure not to leave space heaters unattended.
· If you cannot turn your water off, call at (609) 846-0600 during normal business hours or (609) 522-0222 after hours.
If you are away, you should:
· Have a friend, relative or neighbor regularly check your property to ensure the heat is working and the pipes have not frozen.
· Set your thermostat. Setting your thermostat at 55 degrees to prevent freezing.
· Consider purchasing a freeze alarm. The alarm will call a user-selected phone number if the inside temperature drops below 45 degrees