Surviving an extended power outage in the dead of winter

Readers sometimes write in to recommend resources and share ideas worth considering. Here are a few. 

On Regina municipal politics

Bernadette wrote:

If you are a Regina resident and care about civic matters, you have to follow Paul Dechene’s social media feeds. I recommend @pdcityhall.bsky.social on Bluesky.

I followed his 5 days of live reportage during the budget presentations and debate. It was excellent.

The Pimicikamak disasters in Manitoba

Another reader, who asked that I not use their name at all, had some thoughts about the ongoing fallout from a multi-day power outage at Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

Because this happened during a cold snap, pipes froze and burst, and water damaged hundreds of homes, making them uninhabitable.

This would be the third state of emergency the community faced in less than 12 months.

I wrote a summary of everything they’ve gone through here, if you’re interested.

Preventing pipes from freezing in a power outage

Here are the reader’s thoughts on the situation:

The recent evacuation of this First Nation due loss of their hydro line during very cold weather is understandably challenging for all those people who have had to evacuate 3 times this year. I feel for them.

Yet, the problems and costs could have been dramatically lessened this time. Instead of blaming Hydro or the army or the hotels for different reasons, why does no one ask if the Band had an emergency plan? As soon as power was lost in extreme cold weather, and everyone was notified of an evacuation, a simple plan should have taken place:

1. Shut off water to your house.
2. Open all taps to drain water.
3. Flush your toilet.
4. Put windshield washer fluid in your toilet bowl.

There would have been a lot less water pipes freezing, leaking and damage to homes. Would have saved 100s of 1000s of dollars and the stress of being away from home for weeks and months.

Every remote First Nation community should have a small fridge magnet telling people what to do if they to leave quickly in winter. Isn’t that leadership’s job?

The reader provides good advice, should any of us find ourselves without heat during the dead of winter for an extended period of time. And in my experience, the only time the heat ever goes out is when it’s brutally cold out. 

If you are in a situation where you are worried about your toilet freezing, you can get non-toxic RV/marine anti-freeze, which is better for your plumbing system than vehicle washer fluid.

Do I personally have any on hand for an emergency? No. Not even the kind for my car, so I am underprepared for warmer driving conditions and extended power outages. So, if I can use myself as an example, there are always people who will be underprepared for certain situations.

There are also people who are extra prepared.

The Pimicikamak houses that fared best had access to working generators.

Is it worth buying a generator?

That’s a personal financial decision because they are expensive, and ideally they won’t be used much.

Interestingly, not all the houses in Pimicikamak are hooked up to the main water system. They had water holding tanks in their crawl spaces, which for those who didn’t have generators, froze solid.

But it’s a good idea for people to follow the steps the reader recommends during an extended power outage during a cold snap. It could mitigate a lot damage, but not necessarily all of it.

Sewage backing up

Some of the damage that occurred in Pimicikamak was from sewage backing up.

Homes that sit lower than the main sewer line rely on electric lift stations to move sewage up hill.

Lift stations rely on electric pumps, so when the power goes out, because of gravity, the sewage backs up into the pipes and into people’s homes. There were people in Pimicikamak who reported sewage backing up into their houses. Sewage also leaked into Nelson River.

Problems with shut off valves

Despite knowing what to do, not everyone knows where their water shut off valve is. Others might not be able to access it, while others might not be physically able to close the valve.

Shutoff valves don’t always seal perfectly, especially in older homes. A valve can be broken or corroded.

A shut off valve that isn’t fully closed, for whatever reason, will still allow a small trickle through.

Even if a valve is completely shut and you ran the faucets, it is also possible for some water to be left in the system, specifically in a pipe’s lowest point or in elbows and bends.

A small amount of water can freeze and expand into a plug. When water returns to the pipe, pressure hits the plug and damage can occur.

Showers, appliances and backflow

Shower mixing valves and cartridges, fridges with water lines and other appliances can also be sources of water that can lead to damage.

Water can re-enter a drained line through backflow or cross-connections. In older plumbing with unusual connections, water can flow the wrong way. There could be a small amount of backflow into a cold pipe, freezing and creating a plug.

Hot water tanks

Another concern would be hot water tanks.

Hot water tank holds 30 to 80 gallons of water, and they don’t drain as you run your taps. There designed so cold water enters the tank, pushing the hot water out. You must open the tank’s drain valve at the bottom and let air in so it can empty. You would have to attach a hose to run the water out of the house or fill up multiple buckets while it drained. It’s a big job.

With no power or heat in your house for days, it’s possible a hot water tank could freeze solid. The water expansion could split a seam or create a crack in the tank, damage the fittings at the top, or rupture the drain valve area.

Timing of power failure

Another factor in the specific case of Pimicikamak was that the power went out over the holidays when some people would have been out of town. It also happened at night when many people could have been sleeping.

Before it was known what the cause of the outage was, Pimicikamak Chief David Monais said he initially thought the power would only be out for a few hours, not realizing a hard-to-access powerline stretching over the river had snapped.

A state of emergency wasn’t declared until the next day.

Faulty infrastructure

Monias said Manitoba Hydro let the community down by not upgrading the power lines and poles in his community. Many of the wooden powerlines have started to rot and Monias had been asking Manitoba Hydro to relocate the lines that went across the river, so they were parallel to the highway and easier to fix.

Manitoba Hydro doesn’t have a good relationship with some Indigenous communities because it flooded their land while building dams. And Pimicikamak believes Manitoba Hydro hasn’t done all they said they would do to compensate them for the loss of land.

Monais said Pimicikamak’s water treatment and sewage plants are old; replacement parts are hard to find; and the facilities are literally being held together by duct tape. When the power went out, there was no generator to keep the systems going.

The neighbouring town of Cross Lake had a generator for their water infrastructure, so the residents there had less damage. But, because not all the residents there had insurance, the town is asking for disaster assistance from the province.

Conclusion

If you’re a homeowner or a tenant, have insurance, if you can because we can’t always prevent damage from happening.

And let’s all hope we are never in a situation where we must worry about our hot water heater tank freezing solid. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy some antifreeze, at the very least for my car, for when the temperatures warm up again.