"Scott Lurndal" wrote in message news:JWaKu.34593

stuff snipped

I suspect that most people, who live in cold climes, bury their
water pipes below the frost line where they won't freeze. Same with
the SWD lines.

Are those frost lines set in stone? Seems to me a long, long spell of artic
air could allow the cold to penetrate below the frostline. Anyone know of
data regarding how long it takes surface temperatures of say 0F to permeate
the ground below? I guess it's off to Google again.

http://www.innovateus.net/earth-matters/what-frost-line

Says: " The depth of frost line ranges in the U.S from about 3 to 6 feet.
Below that depth the temperature stays constant 50° F"

I seem to remember that being true from an article I did 30 years ago about
rammed earth homes that were being built in the side of mountain but I
couldn't swear to it. Don't we have any ex-miners or mining engineers
around?

It seems apparent that most municipalities would put their mains below frost
lines but they seem to be breaking anyway:

Here's something I found online:

http://gazettextra.com/article/20140...140209861/1060

Marcia Nelesen
February 6, 2014

[picture] Matt Trickel, a superintendent with Woodward Petroleum, connects
an electrical cable to thaw frozen pipes running to a home on Joliet Avenue
in Janesville.

JANESVILLE--The extended, bitter cold is pushing the ground frost so deep it
is freezing the water in buried pipes that connect Janesville homes to water
mains under streets.
One Janesville resident returned Saturday from an eight-day holiday to be
greeted with a trickle of water from his faucets and then nothing at all.
Water department workers determined the water had frozen somewhere on its
way from the main to his home.

Have you noticed your cold tap water is really, really cold? That's because
the pipes buried outdoors are really, really cold.

The 16 workers in the Janesville Water Department this season have been
dealing with a record number of water main breaks, about 48 so far, said
Dave Botts, utility director.

"But now we're getting all these freeze-ups," Botts said. "We have to have
guys out dealing with that."

Workers are on call 24/7, and there have been only a couple of days since
the end of December when crews haven't been called in, Botts said.

There won't be any letup for at least the next 10 days. More low
temperatures below zero are predicted, and highs are not expected to climb
above freezing.

Normally, the water department will get one or two calls a season concerning
a service pipe freezing, and those usually are in crawl spaces or basements,
Botts said.

"Not in the ground like we are seeing," Botts said.

If the pipe is frozen between the stop box-which usually is located at the
property line-and the home, it is the property owner's responsibility. If
the water is frozen from the stop box to the water main under the street,
it's the city's responsibility.

The department in recent weeks has responded to about 60 private line
freezes and 15 to 20 freezes on the city side.