Agenda item
Winter Weather - Leaks, Repairs and Salt Bins
A representative from Yorkshire Water will be at the meeting to discuss communication issues and recent delays dealing with leaking pipes.
Chris Pinder, responsive repairs manager, will give information about what might be done to prevent frozen pipes and what you can do in the case of a burst pipe.
Martin Horner, head of civil engineering, will discuss the gritting policy and the siting of salt bins.
Minutes:
Louise King and Catherine Mattiocco gave a presentation regarding the difficulties experienced by Yorkshire Water during the recent period of very bad weather. They also thanked Colleagues from Local Authorities and partner organisations for their support over this difficult period.
- In December 80 000 calls were received, compared with 23 000 expected in December.
- 2200 repairs on pipes were completed across the region, compared with an expected 600.
- Colleagues worked through Christmas and New Year 24 hours a day to ensure that repairs happened as quickly as possible and customers were kept with running water where possible.
- 130 repairs to burst pipes were completed daily.
- Less than 1% of the 2 million properties supplied by Yorkshire Water were without water as a result of problems, although it is acknowledged that thousands more were affected by problems.
- The priority was to support the most vulnerable customers (the elderly, housebound, those with medical conditions, disabled and those with newborn babies). Bottled water was delivered to as many of these customers as possible.
The new £18m water treatment works at Acomb Landing will begin in May 2011 and will take 20 months to complete. It will treat around 35,000,000 litres every day.
The following questions were raised
A – We try to raise awareness early with our website, TV adverts and articles in newspapers.
Q – The ventilation in my kitchen is next to a water pipe so it is prone to freezing, is there anything that can be done to prevent a frozen pipe?
A – Insulation will help to prevent it freezing in the future.
The following suggestions were given
Ward Committee Meetings and Resident Association Meetings are a useful method of communication within neighbourhoods. Social Services can also help reach those individuals who are house bound.
6.0 Chris Pinder, Responsive Repairs Manager gave advice on maintaining home water pipe systems to avoid burst pipes including:
- Identify where the main water valve is located outside your home, Identify where the internal water valve is located, making sure it is easily turned on and off.
- Before leaving home for longer, turn off the water valve outside your house and run the taps to empty the water system.
- Before you go to bed run the cold and hot water taps furthest away from where the water comes into the property (usually the bathroom)
- Any taps located outside your property should be insulated and the water supply to them turned off.
6.1 Water while freezing can expand to such extent that it can burst a pipe.
The following questions were raised:
Q – My boiler has a ‘holiday’ mode setting. Is it necessary to turn off the water and empty the system?
A – It is much better to drain the system as the system may break whilst you are away.
Q – The water pipes outside my house are located about 2 feet below the ground, do they need to be insulated?
A – Soil is the best insulator, the pipes are safe against freezing.
7.0 Martin Horner, Head of Civil Engineering, gave the following information regarding gritting and salt bins:
- There are two teams of ten men to clear streets of snow across York they clear predetermined routes and pavements first.
- Gritting trucks can only operate on main routes; they can not be used in narrow streets and cul-de-sac. These need to be cleared manually.
- On 1 November 2010 we had 3,000 tons of salt
- 5,000 tons has been used so far this year
- The average amount of salt spread across York out over night during the cold weather periods is 50 tons.
- We are review the system every year, identifying improvements for the following year.
- The ‘Snow Warden’ initiative is a way in which residents can help to clear the snow where they live. We will be providing training and equipment to all the residents who volunteer.
- A development from last year is the provision of salt bags. These have been placed in locations where there are no permanent salt bins.
- If the salt bin in your area is empty please call 01904 55 1551 to request a refill.
- We cannot grit roads if there is rain forecast as the rain will wash the salt away. We get our weather forecast from MeteoGroup UK, this is specific to York so is accurate.
The following questions were raised:
Q – Bradley Drive is cul-de-sac with a slope. It becomes very icy and the road is dangerous. Would your team spread salt there next time?
A – We try to respond to every request, but we must prioritise the requests. Once we have main routes done and resources left we will deal with it, but I cannot promise anything.
Q – Bus stops always seem to be missed from gritting, they do get very slippy.
A – A very good point they will be included in the review.
Q – Can the clearing and gritting pavements be included?
A – There are small vehicles which can be used for this purpose, this is dependant upon the budgets.
Q – The City centre was cleared of snow and ice quite fast and the outer parts of York were left untouched. Can that be changed?
A – The temperature in the centre of York is always a few degrees higher than in the outskirts, there is also a higher volume of traffic. These will clear the streets much more quickly.
Q – Would it be possible to have a salt bin outside the Community Centre?
A – There are 31 salt bins in the ward. The position of the salt bins will be reviewed after the winter. The Community Centre will be put forward as a potential site for a bin, it may be a suitable site for a salt bag