Severe cold freezing water lines

Area plumbers had dozens of phone calls Monday for frozen pipes and drain lines, but they predict busier days ahead as the extreme cold stays around, especially with wind chill expcted to dip to minus 20 today.

The National Weather Service issued a wind chill advisory for most of Eastern Iowa from 9 p.m. Monday through 11 a.m. today.

According to the KCRG weather lab, frostbite can occur within 30 minutes on any exposed skin under those conditions.

Waterloo hit a record low on Saturday with 19 below. The previous record for the area was 17 below set in 1979. Cedar Rapids and Iowa City hit 17 below on Saturday and 14 below on Sunday.

Joe Miller, owner of Miller Plumbing in Cedar Rapids, said he expects pipe problems to get worse when the thaw starts and leaks are detected. He had about 70 calls Monday for residential and commercial water problems due to the cold weather.

“It's going to take about the fifth or sixth day of this cold for the big problems, Bob McCue, owner of Quality Plumbing in Marion, said. “I had a call for a frozen drain line and someone else had trouble with a vent line.”

McCue suggests leaving kitchen cabinet doors open to warm the pipes or letting a water faucet dribble.

“They might get a bigger water bill, but that's cheaper than $300 or so (for a plumber),” McCue said.

Bruce Jacobs, utilities engineering manager with the City of Cedar Rapids Water Department, said they had a few calls Monday for service line leaks but nothing major like water main breaks. The early snow last month helped insulate the ground, he said.

Carol Sweeting, spokesperson for Iowa City Public Works, said they had about a dozen calls for frozen meters and pipes on Monday.