South Louisiana is settling in for a brutal cold snap as chilly, wet weather blankets the region. It’s an Arctic Blast and there have been concerns ranging from frozen roads to what impacts the cold stretch might have on the crawfish season. Much of the infrastructure and many of the people in the region don’t do well in the extreme cold, as it’s rarely a problem for the area.
Joe Giarrusso is Chief Administrative Officer for the City of New Orleans and says all the city’s systems have passed the initial tests thrown at us by the chill as of late. “Sewerage and Water Board has said everything worked well with them. I checked in with the warming center and it was running as it’s
supposed to,” noted Giarrusso.
He hopes this is a good test run for future cold snaps, as the region is expected to stay cold for some time. “At this point, we’re thankful that the worst of it seems to have missed the metro area and as of right now, there don’t seem to be any significant operational issues in the city or around it,” he went on to explain.
One of the main concerns in freezing conditions is exposed piping and the potential for bursting pipes as temperatures remain icy. Residents are advised to wrap exposed piping with foam insulation sleeves to keep them from freezing (even foam pool noodles cut into sections have been useful for some) and to keep a small trickle of hot water running at night. Faucets on exterior walls are especially susceptible to freezing, so residents are advised to run a steady, thin trickle from those faucets to keep water moving. It’s also advised to disconnect hoses from outdoor faucets before wrapping those faucets, as any remaining water can freeze and cause pipe failure.