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28 December 2010
Last updated at 09:01 ET
The cold weather has resulted in a huge rise in the number of burst pipes around Wales.
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water logged 5,000 calls on Monday, compared with 50 on a typical busy day, and about 185 during the cold snap.
Peter Perry, operations director for Dŵr Cymru, said the business was at "full stretch" but coping.
He said there had been a fantastic response from staff during the "busiest time in living memory".
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"Everybody is in, and we've been doubling up on our standby rosters," he said.
He said that, to put it into perspective, the company was currently putting in more of a supply of water than "we did if we took the very hottest days in June - even though that's a dim distant memory".
Mr Perry also made a plea for anyone who has an empty factory, shop or any premises to check in case of leaks.
"These can then be repaired or shut off as it puts a strain on our system," he said.
A number of pipes had been damaged because they were not properly protected, he said.
'Top tip' "If you have anything in the roof, or anything in an unheated building the chance is that it's going to freeze or burst," he said.
The top tip was to make sure everything was lagged, he added.
"Another problem in some of the older valley houses - and you can sympathise with customers in this predicament - it that it's actually the metal pipes under the ground that are frozen.
"These are probably very old lead or galvanised pipes, laid many years ago, and quite frankly not laid deeply enough," he said.
Modern pipes had "fantastic thermal properties", he said and were laid about a meter deep, so that they did not freeze,
"Everything beyond the boundary stop tap, which is either in the footpath or the road outside the property, is the responsibility of the customer," he said.
Despite the prospect of relaying pipes being "a bit unrealistic" at this time, it was still worth doing everything possible.
This included leaving the loft hatch open for a couple of hours, makes "all the difference", he added.
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Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water logged 5,000 calls on Monday, compared with 50 on a typical busy day, and about 185 during the cold snap.
Peter Perry, operations director for Dŵr Cymru, said the business was at "full stretch" but coping.
He said there had been a fantastic response from staff during the "busiest time in living memory".
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
Another problem in some of the older valley houses - and you can sympathise with customers in this predicament - it that it's actually the metal pipes under the ground that are frozen”
End Quote
Peter Perry
Dwr Cymru Welsh Water
"Everybody is in, and we've been doubling up on our standby rosters," he said.
He said that, to put it into perspective, the company was currently putting in more of a supply of water than "we did if we took the very hottest days in June - even though that's a dim distant memory".
Mr Perry also made a plea for anyone who has an empty factory, shop or any premises to check in case of leaks.
"These can then be repaired or shut off as it puts a strain on our system," he said.
A number of pipes had been damaged because they were not properly protected, he said.
'Top tip' "If you have anything in the roof, or anything in an unheated building the chance is that it's going to freeze or burst," he said.
The top tip was to make sure everything was lagged, he added.
"Another problem in some of the older valley houses - and you can sympathise with customers in this predicament - it that it's actually the metal pipes under the ground that are frozen.
"These are probably very old lead or galvanised pipes, laid many years ago, and quite frankly not laid deeply enough," he said.
Modern pipes had "fantastic thermal properties", he said and were laid about a meter deep, so that they did not freeze,
"Everything beyond the boundary stop tap, which is either in the footpath or the road outside the property, is the responsibility of the customer," he said.
Despite the prospect of relaying pipes being "a bit unrealistic" at this time, it was still worth doing everything possible.
This included leaving the loft hatch open for a couple of hours, makes "all the difference", he added.
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