Timmins is having a good winter when it comes to water line breaks. Although there have been a couple of breaks along Algonquin and Riverside, there have been zero breaks in residential areas. Mayor Steve Black says part of that is because of the milder start to the winter, which means the frost hasn’t yet reached far enough down to hit the pipes. However he says it is partly because of people running their lines when asked.

For those that are running water that have had issues, it will definitely help if the frost is that far down. Black says the city is encouraging residents to keep following those requests if they were given. Black says this time last year he was looking at around a hundred calls or emails about frozen lines, and this year he hasn’t had a single call. He says the backlog of homes waiting for running water doesn’t exist so far this year.