The City's Frozen Pipe Crackdown
Tacoma water inspectors issue fines to hundreds of residents who left taps running to prevent freezing, raising $400 for city coffers.
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.
Inspectors of the water department caught 200 citizens letting the water run so it would not freeze and their names were certified to the department. Notices have been sent out for them to come in and pay a fine of $2 or their water will be shut off entirely. This will add $400 to the water funds. The leakage has been largely stopped and the reservoirs are now full again. No further trouble is expected.
“Notices have been sent out for them to come in and pay a fine of $2 or their water will be shut off entirely.”
Tacoma's water utility has long managed the delicate balance between preventing private pipe damage and maintaining city-wide pressure. Just as in 1909, modern winter freezes often result in civic friction between infrastructure preservation and individual property management.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.