CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With freezing temperatures impacting the region, Charlotte Water is asking customers to prepare for the possibility of outages.
Tuesday night, Charlotte Water worked to repair a water pipe issue requiring a water outage for hours on the Pecan Avenue area in Plaza Midwood. Pecan Avenue is open, as of 5 a.m. Wednesday; water service was restored at 3 a.m.
Then around 6 a.m. Wednesday, all lanes of Eastway Drive just north of Central Avenue were closed due to a water main break. Due to the cold weather, ice was covering the roadway.
While the exact cause of the damage is unclear, the issue came as Charlotte saw its coldest morning since December 2022 with temperatures in the teens.
For Joseph Arguello, the damaged pipe on Eastway Drive meant losing business, after water at his hair salon, Comi's Beauty, stopped working.
Elsewhere in the Charlotte region, crews are on standby with freezing temperatures forecasted through the weekend.
"We've already seen some calls come in and our call volume has been elevated and we're staffing this weekend for much more than that," Rob McClintock, president of McClintock Heating and Cooling, said.
Preparing now can help avoid repairs in the days ahead.
“If you can insulate those pipes on the exterior that helps, but keeping some running water going through will help prevent it from freezing," McClintock said.
If pipes do freeze or burst, "You want to try to find the water cut off. You should always know where that's at in your home. And call a plumber. Call a licensed plumber, somebody that could come out and fix the situation and then help maybe prevent it from happening again in the future," McClintock said.
If water is out, it's likely due to frozen plumbing, Charlotte Water said. Customers are encouraged to call 311 for emergency assistance, if water stops working.
For the latest weather alerts, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications.
And, with the frigid temperatures, keep the five Ps in mind as a guideline for staying safe: People, pets, plants, pipes, and preventing fires.
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