Winnipeg spent $4 million on running water to keep pipes from freezing last winter

If you feel like complaining about how a frigid winter will affect your city, maybe take a pause and consider this: Winnipeg residents spent $4 million last season simply running water to keep their taps from freezing.

That’s a real number from a real finance committee report that summarized a real problem that hit Canada’s most weather-punished city.

After surviving a record-setting cold snap that hit the city in the late stages of last winter, as many as 10,000 Winnipeg residents were told the take preventative measures to stop their pipes from freezing.

The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the city’s water department waived $4 million in water bills accumulated by residents who ran their taps – a preventative measure urged at the time by the city itself.

According to a new finance report, the city also spent $4.2 million on other expenses stemming from the frigid winter - such as staff overtime, water treatment and repairs.

Winnipeg, which is often credited as being the coldest city in Canada, suffered an exceptionally cold winter last year. It was said to be the coldest winter since 1898 – with the average temperatures of December, January and February hovering around -20C. March warmed up to an average of -12.5C, or seven degrees lower that the norm, according to the Free Press.

The season hit the city so hard that it has burned through most of its snow-clearing budget by February. And that cold snap led to a chaotic network of frozen pipes, which prompted the city to open warming facilities and launch a pipe-thawing task force.

The city’s water and waste management division notified 10,000customers living in the areas of town at the highest risk for frozen pipes that they should run their taps in order to keep them from freezing.

Those customers were promised a utility bill credit up to 1,500 litres of water per day, or approximately $500 per fiscal quarter.

The problem was so bad last year that hundreds of Winnipeggers were still dealing with frozen pipes in June - when temperatures reached 32 C.

The city finally announced that residents could stop running their taps in July, though 13 homes were still attempting to thaw their pipes after Canada Day.

So $4 million down the drain just to keep water flowing in Winnipeg. Something to keep in mind as Canada stumbles into its next season of deep chills.