Frozen pipe crisis isn't over yet, city says

The City of Greater Sudbury says a frozenpipe emergency that left hundreds of homes without water in February and Marchis not over yet, and some residents are expressing frustration about a lack of communication during the crisis.

Officials are expected to provide an update later today as crews follow up with residents who lost water.

The city was forced to open shower facilities during the height of the crisis, and the effort to thaw frozen pipes in residential areas was bogged down by a lengthy waiting list.

• Frozen pipes leave nearly 100 Sudbury homes without water

While the city tries to develop new approaches to prevent a similar scenario during the next deep freeze, some residents say the primary problem was a lack of effective communication.

Danika Gaulin didn't realize her name had to be on a list to have crews thaw her pipes and her family was left without water as they awaited approval. She called the city, but didn't see any action until she called back to follow up.

"We figured calling the city the first time ... was good enough," she said. "If we didn't call back, how long would we have waited?"

Doreen Pippy has been running water from her basement tap for nearly two months to make sure the pipes in her home don't freeze again. Like many in the city, her and her newborn were left without water for several weeks.

"It was brutal," she said. Pippy reported the problem to 311, but, like Gaulin, had to call back to formally give workers permission to thaw her pipes.

She said it took three separate teams to make repairs.

"I had so many teams coming in and out of the house. I just felt like there was a step missing."

The city's director of water and wastewater services Nick Benkovich told CBC News there "might have been a very small percentage" of cases where "miscommunication" was an issue.

He said staff is discussing how to improve the process. His team anticipates residents will be told to finally shut off their taps some time in May.