Crews respond to broken water pipes as temperatures begin to warm up

Crews deal with broken water pipes as temps warm up

As the ice continues to thaw in Central Texas, crews are responding to burst pipes. But this time, it’s a very different story than what we saw during the big freeze five years ago.

AUSTIN, Texas - As the ice continues to thaw in Central Texas, crews are responding to burst pipes. But this time, it’s a very different story than what we saw during the big freeze five years ago.

What they're saying:

Since Saturday, the Austin Fire Department reported responding to more than 90 calls for broken pipes. A local sprinkler fitter for fire protection systems said he has seen progress since 2021.

"We had about 280 out of 450 properties down here five years ago, and we only received about 20 calls for service this week," Sprinkler fitter Tray Davenport said.

Davenport said many apartment complexes and commercial properties learned from the past.

"Most of the apartment complexes seem like they've at least made more effort to do a winterization type service," Davenport said.

Some icy road conditions remain amid Central Texas thaw

The Austin Police Department, Travis County Sheriff's Office and Austin Fire Department broke down their calls for service during the winter storm this past weekend.

This time, he said the damage had been minimal.

"A lot of the commercial properties that we have been to have been very minor freeze-ups like that. It hasn't been the main piping where we've had to go in and do major repairs. It's been pretty quick, easy fixes," Davenport said.

Davenport said it is a sharp contrast from February 2021 when hundreds of buildings were knocked offline. He said that the freeze required weeks of nonstop work.

"It was all hands-on deck, and it took us about three weeks to get all of our buildings back up into service last time," Davenport said.

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The Austin Police Department, Travis County Sheriff's Office and Austin Fire Department broke down their calls for service during the winter storm this past weekend.

Davenport said another freeze could always happen, which is why preparation is key.

"Just kind of double check everything that has insulation, you know, to make sure some animals didn't pull it off or just to make sure it's insulated," Davenport said.

He said if your pipes do burst: "The first thing to do would be to go, in an emergency, would be cut the water off and then hit the drain, so yes, if you have a residential system, you definitely need to know where your valve assembly is."