Important Weather Update

Protect your plumbing during freezing weather

With freezing temperatures predicted on Hilton Head Island, take steps to prepare your home and avoid frozen pipes – and potential costly repairs.

Broad Creek PSD customers are encouraged to do the following:

• Locate the main water shut-off valve inside your home so that it can be shut off quickly in the event of a water pipe leak.

• Disconnect garden hoses from the spigot. Turn off and drain irrigation systems.

• Check attics, crawl spaces, and outside walls for uninsulated water pipes, especially in unheated areas.

Once cold weather arrives, follow these tips:

• Keep a slow trickle of water flowing through faucets supplied by pipes that run through unheated or unprotected spaces. This will help prevent the water in pipes from freezing.

• Keep kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors open to allow warm air to circulate around pipes.

If pipes do freeze:

• Shut off the water immediately. Don’t attempt to thaw pipes without first turning off the main shut-off valve.

• Thaw pipes with warm air – not direct heat. You can melt the frozen water in the pipe by warming air around it with a hair dryer or space heater. Do not to leave space heaters unattended. Never use any type of open flame or kerosene.

• Be careful turning water back on. Once pipes are thawed, slowly turn the water back on and check pipes and joints for cracks or leaks.