The Water is Running -- Finally

Today my Christmas saga has finally come to an end. On what would have been my late husband’s birthday, Dec. 23rd, Ontario was hit with a blizzard. Amid the high winds and blowing snow, my power went out.

It went down in the morning for a few hours and then was restored. Just a few hours later, it went out and stayed out for the next 50 hours. Yes, I spent Christmas Day without power in a freezing home. It would be almost midnight on Christmas Day before the power came on and stayed on.

While I had my water taps open when the power went out, they didn’t drain fast enough. I had removed the fuse for the water pump while the power was out to be sure it didn’t try to start up frozen. I noticed while the power was out there was an icicle on my faucet which was my first clue the lines didn’t drain fast enough.

I knew I had to replace my taps so I called a plumber to come and do that in the first week of January. He showed up, picked up a set of taps and when he went to install them he realized at least some of the water pipes had come apart, likely from the water freezing in them.

A brief inspection and he sorted out this was going to be much more than the taps. I decided I’d need to report this to my insurance company. Initially, my insurance company suggested they would only pay for the water damage caused by the breakin pipes and not the pipes.

Both my broker and I had a discussion with the adjustor who readily admitted my actions trying to drain the lines and pulling the fuse were prudent steps to try to mitigate any damage. It took over a week for them to reach a decision that yes, they would treat the pipes as water damage.

The water pump and hot water heater were to be determined as there was no way of knowing if they were damaged until pipes were replaced and they could be tested.

In the meantime, my neighbours were very kindly bringing me containers of water so I had drinking water and could do things like make coffee, sponge bathe and do dishes. When I was a kid we went camping a lot so I remembered how to use less and do more with water.

Today the plumber was here this morning and spent most of the day replacing pipes, installing taps and replacing my water pump. Today and tonight has been the coldest of the year. So right now, I’m delighted to have my water running again and I have all the taps dripping to keep it moving.

I’m expecting the temps to drop to about -15F (-26C) overnight with wind chill taking it to -35F (-37C). The winds wont be high which will help. Tomorrow morning when my water is still running, I’ll breathe a bit easier that my water is truly back.

Shadowspub writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.
NOTE: unless otherwise stated, all images are the author’s

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