Scottish Water urging householders and businesses to ensure pipes are protected from cold weather this winter

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Scottish Water is urging Lanarkshire householders and businesses to ensure their water pipes are protected from cold weather this winter - and help minimise the risk of bursts and damage to property and reduce water losses.

Property owners are being advised that preparing for sub-zero temperatures could prevent problems such as burst pipes and flooding - and all the inconvenience and expense they can cause - and help reduce the amount of water lost through leakage.

Scottish Water has also launched its new free text alert initiative to encourage customers to be aware of any potential disruption to service in their area and how to prepare for every eventuality and is encouraging.

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When temperatures fall below zero, water in pipes can freeze and expand and then contract if the temperature rises which can cause them to crack or burst.

In recent winters, Lanarkshire has experienced several very cold weeks, with pipes freezing followed by quick thawing and this has sometimes caused a surge in the number of bursts across the country.

This, in turn, has led to many incidents of flooding and damage to property, causing significant inconvenience and expense for householders and businesses throughout the country.

Last winter, Scottish Water recorded a total of 3100 bursts across the country’s water network and more than 30 per cent of these were on customers’ properties.

The bursts and leaks also meant substantial amounts of the water Scottish Water produces was lost.

To help reduce the risk of a repeat this winter, the utility advises anyone with a home, holiday home or business premises to take action to protect their properties and pipes, whether the property is old or new.

If your boiler does not have built in frost protection, then you can set your room thermostat to 10C and the programmer to 'On' or '24h' and it will fire up the boiler if needed.

If your property is going to be vacant over the winter months, turn off your house water supply and drain the water system - a plumber should be able to give you advice about this.

Dripping water and cold draughts both increase the risk of pipes freezing - so have any drips or leaks repaired as soon as you discover them, and reduce draughts by fitting draught excluders to doors and windows. It’s unusual to have a hot water cylinder in the loft.

But if you do, you should consider draining this too. Don’t forget to leave your boiler turned on for frost protection.

Even when your home is winter ready sometimes damage can happen, so make sure you have adequate building and contents insurance.

Peter Farrer, Scottish Water’s chief operating officer, said: “It’s good to prepare for the possibility of severe weather and the potential impact that has on property and, by taking steps to insulate and protect properties and pipes, customers can avoid the considerable headache and heartache caused by frozen or burst pipes.

“Taking early action to reduce the risk of such bursts can also help reduce the amount of water lost through leakage from our system, which affected us last winter during the freeze and thaw. Water is always worth saving at any time of year.

“We want to work with our customers, whether they’re householders or businesses, to ensure we are all prepared for cold weather.”

The utility is also calling on customers to sign up to its new text alert service, which is designed to keep people updated on essential information such as energy outages and weather-related issues.

By signing up to the service, customers will receive timely notifications directly to their mobile phone, helping them manage any issues that may arise.

They can sign-up with multiple postcodes, making it easy to keep an eye out for loved ones as well.

Head online for further advice, information and films from Scottish Water.

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