By Emma Sleath (Cross Media Reporter)
Burst water pipes all over town are keeping local plumbers busy as a new cold weather record is set in Alice Springs.
Local plumbers are currently in high demand as the cold weather wreaks havoc on water pipes all over town.
By Saturday (when we hit a chilly -5.2 degrees), Alice Springs had endured five nights in a row of minimum temperatures below -4, a new record in the region.
Warren Thompson, who owns a plumbing company in town, says he's been run off his feet.
"I was getting calls from about 8am [on Saturday morning] with people ringing up saying that they had no water coming out of their taps...then by about 9.30am everything started to thaw out and then all of the burst pipes appeared," says Warren.
"In the end I had to keep telling people to ring around, to try everyone, because we just weren't able to cope with the amount of calls that I was getting."
Warren says the majority of calls have been water pipes bursting in people's rooves, causing water to leak through into the houses.
"Waterpipes to air conditioners and hot water systems were freezing and splitting...and then basically leaking through the ceiling inside the houses," he says.
"When the water freezes it expands...so it takes up more space and with the copper, because there's no flexibility, it can't handle the expansion, so it splits."
"What we've been doing is putting extra insulation on pipework...but also insulation batts which you can buy at the hardware store, they appear to be helping as well, just by laying them on the effected area."
Stand pipes on outdoor garden taps have also been effected, with some using home-made remedies to keep out the chill.
Rural resident Yvonne Rowan, who works with Warren at his plumbing company, says she hasn't seen it this bad in twenty years.
"I think it's been a good 20 years since it's been this cold...since the pipes have been effected this much," she says.
"We've got all our outdoor pipes covered in carpet...we're also using cardboard boxes and old rubbish bins to cover them...unfortunately my plants haven't been so lucky!"
Luckily, we're in for some relief.
Climatologist Joel Lisonbee says the minimum temperature forecast for this week calls for a return to near normal, and even above average minimums toward the end of the week.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/07/09/3541747.htm?site=alicesprings
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June 14, 2015, 08:46:57 PM