ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Residents at the Townhomes at Double Creek in Round Rock got a notice they would be without water, as freezing temperatures are expected throughout Central Texas come Sunday. Sandalwood Management oversees the property, it says the original notice wasn’t clear and said staff will only turn water off if it drops below 20 degrees. It added that would likely only be overnight. At least one other complex has taken this measure before, trying to prevent pipes from bursting, which KXAN reported on in 2022. KXAN reached out to the Texas Apartment Association. It said it doesn’t have a policy regarding shutting water off or preparing for winter weather. However, Building and Strengthening Tenant Action (BASTA), said it’s illegal unless there’s an emergency or repairs being made. “Leaving people without water just to prevent those busted pipes shouldn’t be happening,” Jazmin Rivera a tenant outreach specialist with BASTA said. “People should have the right to water and to feel safe and secure in their homes…we would definitely recommend for tenants to contact 311 to get a code inspector out on the property.”
Turning off the water at the main and draining the pipes will ensure there is no water in the pipes to freeze.
How would you know if they did? Are you gonna send someone unit-to-unit, hour-by-hour, 24 hours/day to ensure everyone has their faucets dripping? Do you think the residents would appreciate this any less than having their water shut off for a few hours?
Sure, if you blow it out with air and check every P-trap. Otherwise you’re risking worse damage then just letting the water trickle. Turning off the water and blowing it out with compressed air is what you do if you’re leaving for an extended period of time in the cold, not something you do for overnight dips.
Well, the water leaking from their apartment would be a good sign that they didn’t leave their faucets running. Charge for repairs to those that don’t open their faucets and soon you won’t have that problem. As to ensuring everyone leaves their faucets running, just send out a text or email or even go knock on doors and leave notes if it’s an apartment complex.
You don’t need to “blow out” anything. You just need enough air in the lines for the water to expand. That’s it.
…surely you jest. Your idea is that the management should wait for the pipes to burst and property to be damaged and ONLY THEN shut off the main water supply?
As if the tenants even have the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to make those sort of repairs?
Yes because everyone does as they’re told…