Veolia encourages customers to take simple steps to protect pipes from winter damage

As chilly weather sets in, Veolia asks customers to follow a few simple steps that can protect their homes and indoor plumbing against winter’s freezing temperatures.

“Setting aside a few minutes to prepare your home can go a long way in preventing costly damage,” said Kendra Morris, CEO of Veolia’s Regulated Water division in North America. “Plummeting temperatures can take a toll on household plumbing. Pipes located on outside walls, in basements or in crawl spaces are especially vulnerable to freezing and breaking.”

Watch Veolia’s Commercial Service Representative Kelsea Dineen as she walks our customers through a quick winter prep checklist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSDzwSE0eRg

Here’s a full list of tips to help protect your home this winter:

Outside the home

• Disconnect and drain the garden hose connection.
• Close all outside vents, crawl spaces and doors so cold air doesn’t seep inside.
• Fix broken windows and seal cracks in the walls.

Inside the home

• Wrap the meter and water lines subject to freezing in insulation or heat tape, which is available at hardware stores.
• Make sure the shutoff valves on either side of the water meter are working properly. Place a tag on the main shutoff valve. Make sure everyone knows where it is and how to use it during an emergency.
• Check the water meter periodically. Contact Veolia if you notice any damage.
• If you have had problems in the past, you may want to keep a trickle of water running from the highest faucet during frigid weather. You will be billed for the water used, but this may help prevent costly plumbing repairs that result from broken pipes.

If you won’t be home

• If you’re going away for an extended period, keep a minimum amount of heat on in the house. This will help protect the pipes in case the temperature drops.
• If you plan to turn the heat off, drain all the water from the pipes, toilets and water heater, and turn off the power source to the water heater.

If the pipes freeze

• If your pipes freeze, it’s important to clear blockages as soon as possible to minimize damage. It may be best to call a licensed plumber.
• If a water pipe has burst, turn off the water at the main shutoff valve in the house.
• Open a nearby faucet slightly so the pipe can drain as it thaws.
• Do not use electrical appliances in areas of standing water.
• Never use hot water or a blowtorch on a frozen pipe or water meter.

ABOUT VEOLIA IN NORTH AMERICA

Veolia in North America is the top-ranked environmental company in the United States for three consecutive years, and the country’s largest private water operator and technology provider as well as hazardous waste and pollution treatment leader. It offers a full spectrum of water, waste, and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. Veolia helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Veolia has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across North America. www.veolianorthamerica.com

ABOUT VEOLIA GROUP

Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with 215,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2024, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 98 million with sanitation, produced 42 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 65 million tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 44.7 billion euros in 2024. www.veolia.com