Central Arkansas Water reminds customers to stay vigilant during upcoming cold temps

Incoming icy temperatures have Central Arkansas Water (CAW) urging customers to take precautions now to avoid frozen and burst pipes as winter weather moves into Arkansas.

CAW says while crews are prepared to respond if issues arise, much of the responsibility falls on homeowners and building managers.

“The biggest thing we’re focused on right now at CAW is preparing our customers for this event,” said Doug Shackelford, Public Affairs Officer for CAW.

With snow and ice expected to impact the state, CAW says frozen pipes remain one of the biggest risks during prolonged cold. Shackelford says taking action ahead of time can help prevent costly damage.

“It’s imperative that they do the work beforehand to make sure that they can avoid damage, if possible,” Shackelford said.

Shackelford says CAW is not overly concerned about its own infrastructure because water mains are buried deep below ground. However, he says many of the problems the utility responds to during winter storms originate inside homes and buildings. He pointed to the 2021 winter storm as an example, when unheated buildings caused widespread issues.

“Buildings in many cases didn’t have their heat on because people weren’t utilizing the building and so we were seeing especially fire suppression systems inside buildings that were freezing and breaking,” Shackelford said.

To reduce the risk of frozen pipes, Central Arkansas Water recommends letting faucets drip, opening sink cabinets to allow warm air to reach pipes, keeping a consistent temperature inside homes, and covering exposed outdoor pipes.

“We’ll do whatever it takes to go out and find the leaks if there are any, but we’re going to hope that there’s not,” Shackelford said.

CAW says crews will be on standby throughout the cold weather and ready to respond if line breaks occur, though officials do not expect problems on the scale seen in past winter storms. More winter weather preparation tips are available on KATV.com.