Greensboro Reporter

Sometimes taking precautions still won’t let a person avoid a problem, especially when the foe is Mother Nature.

Many homeowners know that if sustained sub-freezing temperatures are in the forecast, they should take steps to keep their water lines from freezing. But last week’s Arctic blast was so prolonged that those steps often proved futile.

“I let the faucet drip. I even had the cabinets open, so the heat could get to them,” Tameka Kane of Greensboro told Fox 8 in a Dec. 26 article. 

Kane said Village Park property management sent an email instructing residents to do those things to avoid frozen pipes. Still, she said her son noticed water shooting out of a pipe outside their home on Friday and immediately called called the property’s on-call maintenance but didn’t get a response.

“Nobody even reached out to say, ‘We received your messages. We’ll send someone out to take a look,’” she said.

Next, she called the City of Greensboro for help and was told they couldn’t help because the pipe was on private property.

“The city said that this was private land and that they couldn’t do anything about it, we would have to contact Village Park,” she said. “That’s what we have been doing all weekend." 

Kane said the water has been running outside nonstop, but it isn't flowing in her house anymore. She still had to cancel family plans, though, and she’s struggling to get some water in the house.

“My husband went to Lowe's, and we bought the five-gallon jugs of water,” Kane said. “We got about four of those just so we’ll be able to flush the toilet and be able to wash our hands. We even tried washing dishes. We’re trying to make the best of it." 

While she understands why most places were closed on Monday, she doesn’t understand why on-call maintenance is unreachable. 

She said she also fears what the water bill will look like next month and wonders who is responsible for the water running non-stop for nearly a week.