Holy water

Above, left: Rev. Steve Spicer enjoys running water, now from the church’s underground pipes. The taps must remain on to prevent freezing.
Above, right: A blanket keeps the temporary pipes from freezing as they run into the church.

Frozen pipes stress the community in two Wellington churches

In the dead of winter, when darkness prevails over light and people huddle indoors, depression can easily set in. Especially for those who are getting too old to feel safe driving or walking through snow.

For some of these people, a church can be a saving grace—an opportunity to escape loneliness and reconnect with their community, whether for prayer or just to attend events.

But other things become necessary as people age, and leaving home to visit a place without running water can seem like a daunting challenge.

It’s the reason attendance dropped off at the Anglican and United churches in Wellington. It began in mid-February: the water wouldn’t run, and it seemed the pipes had frozen. But only at the two buildings, across the street from each other. No other neighbours experienced the problem. It was a mystery.

They called the County for help, and waited.

Eventually, a crew came out to run hot water through the pipes and defrost the blockage, but it didn’t work. The source of the blockage remained unclear. The churches had buckets of water brought in. And they waited.

Many phone calls later, the County returned and installed an overland pipe on the United Church property. The temporary solution worked intermittently. The exposed pipe froze every time the temperature dipped. A sign was placed over the sink in the United church kitchen: keep the tap running. It was the best they could do.

Later, a similar pipe was installed for the Anglican church.

Events had to be cancelled or moved—a cumbersome undertaking, since between the two churches, there was an event almost every day. Staff were forced to find facilities elsewhere.

Yesterday, a County crew checked in to find the water had come back. But only after nearly two months.

United Church minister Steve Spicer says the churches lost revenue, but there’s no way to prove it, let alone how much.

He’s serene, despite the situation. Puzzled as to why the County hasn’t done more. The pipes froze in February, but the churches were relying on overland pipes until April.

“My only question would be, if this was anybody else, would this be the process?” Spicer says. “If the grocery store, the Tall Poppy—my God, imagine how much there’d be screaming if the Tall Poppy was frozen? Would they leave that temporary solution? The Drake hotel: the same thing. Why hasn’t there been a quicker response? That’s all.”

The County says the churches were in line with all other complaints, and were not treated as more or less important than any residence or business with a winter water blockage. Complaints are only moved to the front of the line if they need to service children or the elderly as an emergency, such as at a hospital, school or retirement residence.

This year was particularly bad for frozen pipes. Although it was not as cold as last winter, the late snow cover meant frost was driven deeper into the ground.

The County has started a program called ‘Keep the tap running,’ which allows water users with frozen pipes to run their taps continuously, without a usage cost attached to prevent the problem from recurring