(1/)PIPE BURST REMINDER

Posting this again in hopes that the message is received everywhere: Widespread, long-term, unmitigated power failures leaving homes without heat have exacerbated the threat for pipe bursting. It could happen on an unprecedented scale in the coming days.

(2/)Without heat, in millions of homes in Texas, it is likely that many of them have pipes frozen.

If water isn't flowing through your pipes, and your city isn't currently experiencing a water outage, then you should assume that ice has formed in your pipes.

IF your pipes have been damaged by expanding ice, it won't be known until that ice starts to thaw and the "dam" breaks. That could happen at any time in the coming days as temperatures begin to recover and power ( @ERCOT_ISO, do your job) comes online.

THINGS YOU NEED TO DO

1) As shown above, locate, mark, clear, and make operable your water shut off for your property. This is a must. When the water starts flowing, every minute counts to get it shut off.

2) whichever faucets/sinks/tubs/showers are effected with non-flowing water, open them up. This may help relieve pressure on the pipe when it starts to melt and flow returns

If your pipes are frozen, is it guaranteed that your pipes will burst? No, and mine are proof of that. I was worried sick about what would happen, but with yesterday's sunshine, they slowly melted and returned to normal without incident. I hope everyone else has similar fortune.

You should plan for the worst though, which is to follow the steps above.

As climb out of this freeze, more homes could flood now than in Harvey. All it would take is 4-5% of the 4 mil customers without power to reach that threshold.

This will be a disaster unfortunately, but as with anything else, preparedness NOW can mitigate.

I'm praying for Texas and its people as frustrations continue to mount after days of fake empathy and hollow answers from leaders. Brighter days ahead.