Prevent Frozen Water Lines

Customers who have received a letter from the City due to their water service line freezing in the past and who are directed, by phone call or in person from City staff, to start running a cold-water faucet are eligible for the rebate.

While the program is in effect, selected residents who are directed by the City to continuously run one of their cold-water faucets receive the first 75m³ of water consumption per month free of charge. The flow should be set at about the width of a pen to prevent your water service line from freezing.

Running a cold-water faucet with the flow set to approximately 250ml per 10 seconds, will help prevent your water service line from freezing when the temperature drops well below freezing for a prolonged period of time.

In winter, the frost goes deeper into the ground the longer the temperatures stay well below freezing and can eventually get deep enough to freeze water service lines that have no flow going through them.

Throughout the winter months, we monitor the frost levels in the ground at various frost monitoring stations throughout the City. We will contact select residents and business owners, by phone, to recommend that they begin running a cold-water faucet. We will also post on the City’s website that we have begun contacting select residents, if we determine that the frost levels are deep enough to freeze water service lines. The cold-water faucet should be left running continuously, “24/7” until the website is updated to indicate that it is safe to shut it off.

We suggest putting a notice on the selected cold-water faucet to prevent other occupants in the house/business from turning it off by mistake.

You do not need to run your faucet continuously unless directed to do so.

Continuously means running the water 24 hours per day. Faucets that have been turned off for a few hours or overnight have resulted in frozen water lines. Customers who have had a frozen water line repaired but do not continuously run a faucet following the repair may incur a fee applied to their utility account for an additional emergency call.

A faucet running with the directed amount of flow should take 10 seconds to fill 1 cup (250ml).

• This same volume should take 4-8 seconds for 100ml or use approximately 1-2 cubic metres per day.
• Log on to your eUtility account to monitor your water consumption.

You will qualify for the rebate automatically if you receive a letter and only if it is recommended by the City to start running water. 

• You may choose to contact us at 403-529-8176 to confirm. 
• The City will verify that your information is correct by checking automated meter (AMI) data.
• The discount will be credited to your account on a future utility bill once we have directed that it is safe to turn off the cold-water faucet.

If you have been notified by a letter from the City of Medicine Hat regarding frozen water lines and run your tap continuously from the time directed, you will automatically receive a credit equivalent of up to 75m3 of water volume per month on your utility account.

The City will use automated meter (AMI) billing data to verify that you have been continuously running your tap for the time period directed.

You can monitor how much water you are using each day by checking your water meter or logging into your own eUtility account on the City’s website.

A rebate of 75m³ will allow those directed to run their faucet continuously at 1-2m³ per day without incurring extra costs.

• If you use more than 75m³ per month you will be responsible for covering the cost of the additional water consumption.

• The discount only applies to the time period that you have been instructed by the City to run your water continuously. 
• The rebate only applies to the Utility Account holders of previously affected addresses who
• receive a letter from us and are directed to run a cold-water faucet. 
• It is not retroactive to previous months or winters.