City of Calgary crews tackling water main breaks caused by cold snap
Water main breaks in Calgary have city workers busy through the holiday. According to the city's website, there are four ongoing water disruptions across the city.
Chris Huston, Manager of Drinking Water Distribution with the City of Calgary, said they've received about 80 calls about frozen pipes since Christmas.
"When you get into the minus mid-20s to the minus 30s, it's pretty common for indoor plumbing to freeze," he said.
Huston said water main breaks happen for a number of different reasons, "You've got soil conditions, pipe age, pipe material, and potential pipe transients as pumps come on and off in the system."
He said there's not much that can be done to prevent water main breaks, but residents can take steps to prevent water lines from freezing. Thermostats should be set to at least 15 C, even when no one is home. Residents can also check for drafts, and refrain from opening windows.
Warmer temperatures this weekend could lead to a brief thaw, and Huston said that could lead to more calls down the road, "It could have an impact later on, but it really depends on what the weather does in February, March, and April."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
'I'm not wealthy': Ontario senior shocked she owes $40,000 in capital gains after gifting land
An Ontario senior who wanted to help her daughter and grandson eventually own homes one day decided to give them two lots on her property as a gift—but she didn’t know it would eventually cost her tens of thousands of dollars.
NDP want Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
These are the world's 20 best cities for foodies, according to Time Out
Some travellers pick a city break based on the destination’s cultural offerings. Others eye up cities with buzzy nightlife or opt for a destination hosting a festival or event. But for many vacationers, the most exciting part of any trip is the food.
Israel's war cabinet minister moves to dissolve parliament: statement
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz's centrist party has proposed holding a vote to dissolve parliament in a bid to bring about an early election, his party said in a statement on Thursday.
DEVELOPING BMO clients face outages in Canada, U.S. following data centre fire alarm
Bank of Montreal clients on both sides of the border Thursday morning have reported outages with banking services. BMO said its technical team is investigating.
Exorbitant fees get Gazans out with no help from Ottawa
The comforting sound of giggling grandchildren has chased away the cloud of anxiety that has loomed over Mohammed and Intisar Nofal's home for the past seven months.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., begins RBC Canadian Open defence
Nick Taylor begins the defence of his RBC Canadian Open title this morning.
B.C. mortgage broker ran $270-million Ponzi scheme, then fled Canada, bankruptcy trustee says
The trustee appointed to manage the bankruptcies of a Victoria mortgage company and its owner has concluded that they committed "numerous offences" and operated as a "massive Ponzi scheme."