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The subzero temperatures of this week has many residents concerned about pipes freezing up. For residents with a history of freezing pipes, the city of Hancock has posted a “Let Run” notice on their website.
Hancock Let Run Policy Details
But before you open the tap, Hancock City Manager Barry Givens says you’ll need to clear it through the city. Givens said, “This was adopted by the city council in November of 2014. It comes down to if you’ve had a freeze up within the prior three years, or if your lines have frozen currently, you’re eligible to run your water at a rate that the policy dictates. You get a credit of 11,000 gallons (per month). We don’t want faucets on full blast or multiple faucets. If you have one in your house and run it, you can take a gallon container and fill it up, we’re looking for about 4 minutes to fill that up. That’s about the rate you need to not freeze. You do that and let us know, provided evidence that you’ve had a freeze up within the last three years, and we’ll get you on the let run list.”
After you have been put on the “Let Run” list, Givens says it’s important to maintain the correct amount of flow through your faucet. “The major item to keep in mind is just to get some of that water flowing and maintaining that flow,” Givens said. “You don’t want it less than that amount of 1/4 gallon per minute because if it’s too slow you could face a potential freeze up even if it’s just dripping, but you don’t want it using too much water excessively because it’s just wasteful and not needed.”
Temperatures are finally going to get back above zero today and could even get above freezing by the end of the weekend, but that doesn’t mean the ground will thaw out that quickly. “We’ll let people know when the weather is conducive to ending the let run but just because we’re getting some warmer temperatures this weekend, anybody who’s on the let run list- keep your water running until you’re notified otherwise,” said Givens.
Do not just open your faucets without first getting on the “Let Run” list. Details on how to get on the city’s list can be found on their website.
As of Friday morning, the city of Houghton had not issued a “Let Run” notice but is currently monitoring the situation.
