To shut of water at the house or to leave the faucets dripping--advice needed (Houston: neighborhood, live)

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The City of Houston uses pumps to maintain water pressure, not water towers. If all the faucets are open even a little bit for dripping, it becomes difficult to maintain pressure. Water towers maintain pressure with the weight of the water from the height of the tower, so dripping doesn't cause a pressure loss.

Prove it with consumption data. A drip will fill a gallon bucket overnight. A standard shower used 2.5 gallons per minute. If what you say is true, the city of Houston would experience dangerously low pressure every morning when people start taking showers.



You know what really really causes low water pressure? Broken pipes! So protect the city water system by letting your pipes drip so you don't have a gusher or the city pipes don't freeze for lack of flow.

[Ghost Town]

City water?
How many users here are actually attached to the city water?
Maybe MUD water?

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by oceangaia

Prove it with consumption data. A drip will fill a gallon bucket overnight. A standard shower used 2.5 gallons per minute. If what you say is true, the city of Houston would experience dangerously low pressure every morning when people start taking showers.



You know what really really causes low water pressure? Broken pipes! So protect the city water system by letting your pipes drip so you don't have a gusher or the city pipes don't freeze for lack of flow.

The City Public Works department specifically said to not drip faucets. I'll believe them over anyone else.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by WRM20

The City Public Works department specifically said to not drip faucets. I'll believe them over anyone else.

I'll believe everyone else in the world over them, including the public works of nearly every other city. Google it. City of Houston Public Works isn't going to be paying for your massive repairs.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by oceangaia

I'll believe everyone else in the world over them, including the public works of nearly every other city. Google it. City of Houston Public Works isn't going to be paying for your massive repairs.

Other cities don't use pumps to maintain water pressure like Houston does. That makes a difference. As long as you flush a toilet from time to time, or run the water for a few minutes, your pipes will be fine, and the impact to water pressure won't be as bad as having open faucets.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Other cities don't use pumps to maintain water pressure like Houston does. That makes a difference. As long as you flush a toilet from time to time, or run the water for a few minutes, your pipes will be fine, and the impact to water pressure won't be as bad as having open faucets.

Oh really? You know this or just repeating propaganda? City of Houston is the only city in the country that uses pumps? Well maybe they built their system wrong.


Flushing a toilet uses up a whole lot of drips. Again, present the consumption data of faucets dripping. Key word being drip, not a normal stream from the faucet.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Other cities don't use pumps to maintain water pressure like Houston does. That makes a difference. As long as you flush a toilet from time to time, or run the water for a few minutes, your pipes will be fine, and the impact to water pressure won't be as bad as having open faucets.

Nah. You need to let the water drip, because once it freezes somewhere, the freezing grows along the line. Remember, a 1/2 or 3/4 inch pipe, if exposed to extreme cold can freeze pretty fast. The drip ensures a bit of circulation.

If you have electricity, you can also try to warm your pipe where you think the freeze happens to be with a hair drier.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by BOORGONG

Nah. You need to let the water drip, because once it freezes somewhere, the freezing grows along the line. Remember, a 1/2 or 3/4 inch pipe, if exposed to extreme cold can freeze pretty fast. The drip ensures a bit of circulation.

If you have electricity, you can also try to warm your pipe where you think the freeze happens to be with a hair drier.

We've never dripped our faucets in the 45 years I've lived in Houston, including the 1983 freeze where temps hit 11 degrees, and have never had an issue. The City says not to drip faucets, so I go with their choice.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by WRM20

We've never dripped our faucets in the 45 years I've lived in Houston, including the 1983 freeze where temps hit 11 degrees, and have never had an issue. The City says not to drip faucets, so I go with their choice.

I sympathize with you. Do what you think is right, or worthwhile.


I live in an extreme cold climate, where houses have basements for the most part, and systems are protected by being run indoors.


I am not telling you what to do, and believe me when I say that I sympathize with Texans. We lived through the 1998 Ice Storm where more than a thousand transmission towers collapsed, another order of magnitude to the disaster playing out in Texas. I actually live in the middle of the area that was more acutely affected then. We were without power without a week, with a 2 year old and my wife was pregnant then, too. We cleared out and stayed at my cousin's house in a distant suburb where they had power. Trees were broken, some streets were closed off for weeks because of this, and the size of the disaster. We have fewer natural disasters than you have in the summertime, but this ice storm thing I don't want to have to live through again... Some people had to wait months to get reconnected.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Januar...ican_ice_storm

[Ghost Town]

Originally Posted by WRM20

We've never dripped our faucets in the 45 years I've lived in Houston, including the 1983 freeze where temps hit 11 degrees, and have never had an issue. The City says not to drip faucets, so I go with their choice.

Probably older houses were built better.
One of my coworkers lost water due to the frozen pipe on Day 1.
And at that time it didn't drop below 25 yet.
He lives in a newer subdivision.