The city of Winooski is asking residents to leave the water running.
That's part of the city's effort to prevent the water main breaks and frozen pipes that have caused extensive trouble this week.
Winooski Public Works Director Peter Wernsdorfer says the recent cold weather has been tough on the city's network of underground water lines.
Because of that, the city is asking residents to turn a faucet on and let the water run so it won't freeze in the distribution lines.
"Take a tap, and it doesn't matter really which one it is, but if you can find the one that's farthest away from your water service and just open it a little bit so that the water is flowing out ... about the diameter of a ballpoint pen tip," he says.
Wernsdorfer says there have been five water main breaks in the past few days.
In addition, Wernsdorfer says there are likely more than 20 houses with no water service because the pipes connecting them to the water mains have frozen.
The city has offered to credit resident's accounts if keeping the water going runs up their bills.
Wernsdorfer also encouraged any Winooski residents who can't get their water running to call city hall so the public works department can help.
Winooski City Hall can be reached at 802-655-6410.
