Winterizing Seattle's Water Pipes
City crews scramble to box in exposed water mains after a costly deep freeze the previous year.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The water works department is engaged in boxing the 1,500 feet of water mains exposed to the weather on Grant street. During the severe snap of last winter, about $1,000 worth of pipe on this main burst, and the boxing is being done to obviate a similar misfortune during the coming winter. As a further precaution, a two-inch pipe has been laid connecting the dead ends of the Grant street main and the pipe on Pine street, which will keep the water moving in the pipe. This connection, 2,500 feet long, is also being boxed. The exposed pipes on the water front of the business portion of the city will not be boxed, as it is considered that enough water will be used from them to keep up a sufficient circulation to prevent freezing.
“During the severe snap of last winter about $1,000 worth of pipe on this main burst.”
While Seattle’s modern infrastructure is buried deep to survive our mild winters, the city still struggles with aging systems and the cost of preventative maintenance. The 1893 fear of 'burst pipes' reflects a city just beginning to harden its skeleton against the elements.
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