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When customers wake up to dry faucets during a deep freeze, every call feels urgent and every fix matters.
Calls have poured into Louisville Water’s radio room and customer service call center. The words “no water” were recorded more than 500 times over the past week. An automated prompt helped many of those customers by walking them through what could be the issue. Most of the “no water” calls we answer end up being frozen pipes in the customer’s private plumbing. If you wake up to no water, try using this quick checklist first:
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Check to see if only one or two faucets do not have water. If so, one of the pipes in your house may be frozen. Click here for tips on what to do if your pipes freeze.
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Check to see if Louisville Water crews are working on your street. If so, your water may be turned off because of a main break. Main break repairs typically take four to six hours, but can take longer.
Louisville Water Metering Specialist Mike Harshfield has seen his fair share of cold snaps in his nearly 27 years at Louisville Water. Over the past week, he has helped with “no water” calls that cannot be solved over the phone.
He was in the Belknap neighborhood, near the Highlands, early Thursday morning to check on one customer with no water. He discovered that a neighbor also was without water and decided to check their service while he was there.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s one customer or 100 customers. If I can get one in, or 50 of them in, I’m going to do it,” Harshfield said.
He looked at both meters. The first had some air in the line near the meter and some possible ice in the customer’s side of the line. Harshfield cleared out the air and gave the customer tips on how to thaw the pipe.
“Open your cabinets and run a steady stream of cold water from a faucet. Eventually it will break loose. It will thaw itself,” he explained.
The second customer had a frozen meter. Harshfield used a blow torch to thaw the meter before reinstalling it. The customer was relieved and had one last, important question.
“Can I run my dishwasher now?” she asked.
Harshfield gave her the answer she had been waiting for – yes! And just like that, two customers had their Louisville Pure Tap® back.
“They’re happy, so I’m happy,” Harshfield said.
Stories like these play out every winter, and our teams are ready to respond in the field and on the phone. No matter the weather, Louisville Water remains focused on delivering reliable, safe, and high-quality water.
There are simple steps you can take to protect your home and prevent frozen pipes. Pure Tap pro-tip: Make sure you know where your main water shutoff valve is located.
