Help With Your Water or Sewer

Frozen Services

What to do

The City wishes to remind residents that there will be no bill adjustments for any additional consumption due to running water to prevent freezing.

The City has a voluntary Freeze Prevention Program to help you keep your water lines and water meters from freezing. Frozen services can cause service interruptions and damage infrastructure. The program encourages you to:

• Make sure that your plumbing and drains will allow water to run continuously without supervision;
• PLEASE NOTE: When the weather turns colder, please pay attention to the temperature and when it drops, consider running your water (the stream should be approximately 6 mm wide or the width of a straw, as per the information below - enough to ensure water continues flowing through your pipes) until the temperature rises. Please note that the City will not be responsible for any for any costs related to the additional water consumption.
• Notify the city as soon as possible when you notice an interruption in water supply.

In extremely cold weather the City recommends that you:

• Keep kitchen, laundry and bathroom cabinet doors open to allow warm air to circulate around water pipes and water meters;
• Make sure all chemicals and cleaners are kept safely out of the reach of children and pets;
• Keep a minimum household temperature of 13 degrees Celsius;
• Make sure outside taps are drained and turned off;
• Use foam pipe insulation to wrap pipes located near exterior walls, in crawl spaces or in attics;
• Seal air leaks in your home and garage and keep your garage door closed;
• If you are going away shut off the valve in your basement, drain all water lines by opening taps and have someone check your home regularly;
• If you are having problems with frozen pipes you can speak with a plumber to about lowering your water service to a depth of at least 2 m and making sure waterlines on exterior walls are insulated.

If you are advised to run your taps a steady stream of water 6 mm wide or approximately the width of a straw should be run constantly until the extreme temperatures rise.

If you open the tap closest to where the waterline enters your house and you notice there is little to no water flow it is possible that your line could be frozen. Please call a licensed plumber right away. If your waterline has frozen:

CALL US FIRST - we have important information that can save you time and money.

• Call a licensed plumber as soon as possible. Please note that plumbers MUST call the City prior to the commencement of any work on City-owned services. If the plumber does not call the City, the City will not pay for any work that needs to be completed even if it is determined that the frozen service is located on the City side. This is because only City-approved plumbers can work on City-owned infrastructure. In addition, plumbers working on City-owned infrastructure must use our approved method of thawing frozen lines which is steam.
• If the service is frozen outside of your property line on city property, the city will be notified and is responsible for thawing the line;
• If the portion of the service line that is frozen is on your property (between your home and the property line) you are responsible for hiring a plumber and covering the cost;
• If you have taken all reasonable steps and the line on your property can not be thawed the city may connect a temporary service line to supply your residence with water;

The city will bill the homeowner supplying the water and the owner receiving the water as part of the temporary service based on their previous year's bill for the same time period.

Sanitary Sewer Backups

Please CALL US FIRST. Staff need to determine if the backup is associated with a City main prior to the commencement of work.

• If it is determined that the the main is fine and that the backup is due to a blockage, the owner/occupant will need to call a plumber to determine if the blockage is located on the City side (from the property line to the street/road), or on the owner's side (inside the property line.)
• The plumber then MUST call the City prior to commencing any work. This is very important: if the plumber does not call the City first, the City shall not be responsible to pay for any work related to the sewer backup even if it is determine that the cause of the blockage is location on City owned property. Only City-approved plumbers may work on City-owned systems/infrastructure. Please see link below for plumbers who are City-approved.
  
• NOTE: The plumber hired to determine where the blockage is located MUST provide video documentation to prove the location of the cause of the sewer backup. Therefore, any plumber hired by the owner to determine the location of the blockage must have the capability/equipment to provide this. Without this proof, the City shall not be responsible to pay for any work associated with the sewer backup regardless of the location/responsibility. When the plumber calls the City, he/she will be advised of this and will speak to the Supervisor/ORO of Distribution and Collection for further instruction.
• If it is determined that the blockage is located on the owner's side (inside the property line), the property owner shall be responsible for all costs associated with the sewer backup. If the blockage is on the owner's side, the owner may hire any plumber he/she wishes. If it is determined that the backup is due to misuse of the system, the City will NOT be responsible for any associated costs.
• Responses to vulnerable customers are accelerated when possible.
• Please click for listing of City-approved plumbers. If you are a plumber and would like to be added to the City's listing of approved vendors, please email casewww@kawarthalakes.ca 

What Can I Flush?

When in Doubt - Throw it Out

While it might seem harmless to flush a piece of dental floss or paper towel down the toilet, the truth is that many household items (including those advertised as flushable), can damage not only your plumbing which can lead to sewer backups but also the sewer system, the wastewater treatment facility and the environment. Millions of dollars are spent unnecessarily each year on maintenance, repair and clean up costs. If we all followed some simple rules, we could reduce not only the financial impact, but the environmental impact as well.

Here is a list of things to throw OUT, not IN.

• Paper towel
• Facial tissues
• Wipes (yes, even flushable ones)
• Tampons
• Cotton swabs

These items are among the most common offenders. First, because many people don’t know that they shouldn’t be flushed. But when we stop to think about it, these items are especially harmful. Why? Because they are all made to absorb water. Once thrown into the toilet, what do they do? EXPAND. Items that expand when exposed to water are not good for your pipes or the sewer system.

 “Flushable” wipes should not be flushed. Despite manufacturer's advertising, these wipes do not break down. They are made to be strong and to not dissolve when used to clean up messes. As a result, they break apart very slowly and easily clog pipes and filters at the wastewater plant. The first ever test of single-use wipes against rigorous criteria for flush-ability produced failing grades for all 101 products. Results showed that not one single wipe was able to fall apart or disperse safety through the sewer system test. (Water Canada, May/June 2019 issue.)

Plastic/Vinyl Materials - These products do not break down and are just some of the items leading to the growing problem of microplastic pollution poisoning our rivers, lakes, streams and oceans.

• Condoms
• Dental Floss
• Contact lenses

Dental floss can also twist up inside your pipes causing blockages, clogging up pipes and wastewater treatment equipment – dental floss can even wrap around parts of your septic system and burn out the motors on expensive plant equipment.

Medications – These break down eventually, but trace chemicals ultimately end up in our drinking water and can sicken fish, animals and people. The safer, more responsible option is to return any unfinished medication to your doctor or take them to the nearest pharmacy for proper disposal.

Kitty litter – This material (meant to absorb liquid), will NOT dissolve in water and can create clogs - EVEN if it’s labelled flushable.

Cigarette butts – Toxic chemicals tossed into the sewer system aren’t good for the environment and can make their way back into source water. 

Hair – Like dental floss, hair (from your brush or after shaving), gets caught on basically everything – plus, it floats. It’s super strong and never dissolves in water - no matter how long it’s in there. It can easily cause clogs in your pipes and wrap around equipment at the wastewater plant causing significant damage.

Fats/Oils/Cooking Grease – Most of us know that we shouldn’t put cooking grease down the drain, yet some of us still put it down the toilet. Fat, oil and cooking grease cool and harden when they cool. Over time the grease will build up and can block the entire pipe – both in your private plumbing and in the City’s. 

Chemicals – Most household cleaners have harmful chemicals in them that shouldn’t be flushed into the sewer system. Consider cleaning your toilet with vinegar instead.

Household Hazardous Waste – Hopefully we all know that putting paints or pesticides into the toilet is a definite no but just in case – don’t do it.

Feminine Sanitary Products - We get it. We do. But the damage these products do to plumbing and wastewater plant equipment costs taxpayers and municipalities great amounts of money in repairs. Wrap them and place them in the garbage.

Household plumbing, distribution pipes and wastewater plants are not equipped to handle anything except for human waste, wastewater and toilet paper. Anything else should be put in the trash.

So remember, when in doubt – throw it out. Don't let what you flush, come back to haunt you.