Freezing pipes plague region

The number of frozen water pipes increased during the recent cold snap and more may come to light as temperatures warm, according to Curtis Horton of Carson City's Public Works Department.

Horton, departmental operations chief, said Tuesday that calls about frozen pipes at homes and mobile homes had come in at a higher-than-normal rate, above the typical 20 to 30 calls a week during cold weather. He urged mobile homeowners to check their skirting and other homeowners to check crawl spaces and boxes that cover water connections outside their houses.

A sprinkler water pipe rupture Tuesday evening forced the evacuation of three patients from the long term acute care facility located at Carson Tahoe Specialty Medical Center. According to a press release from Carson Tahoe Health, the patients were moved to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center. By 7:15, the flood had been contained.

Horton also said the city had a frozen water meter early Tuesday that was repaired. "That happens every now and then," he said, adding that the meter actually may have broken earlier but wasn't noticed until the morning hours. But other than that case, on Plantation Drive between Ash Canyon Road and Manhattan Drive on the west side of Carson City, he said city government wasn't experiencing any problems.

He expects problems to continue as long as the cold does, and in warmer weather some additional problems will be caught by homeowners as pipes start to unfreeze.

"It's a sustained cold. This has been cold for the past couple of weeks," he said, adding, "It has been keeping us busy."