Extreme temperatures lead to bursting pipes for Sask. businesses, homes, hospital

Extreme temperatures across Saskatchewan are leading to frozen and bursting pipes in homes, businesses and a hospital.

The province experienced extreme cold over the weekend, with wind chills in the -40 to -50 range.

Regina city hall was closed to staff and the public Mondayafter a pipe burst "due to the effects of extreme weather," a city news release said.

The Delta Hotel in downtown Regina also experienced flooding due to a water main break.

Water could be seen flowing inside of the hotel's lobby and out into the sidewalk this past weekend.

WATCH|Water main break leads to wet Regina hotel lobby:

Water main break leads to wet Regina hotel lobby

9 months ago

Duration 0:45

Radio-Canada captured this footage of the cleanup after a watermain broke at a downtown Regina hotel.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority confirmed in a news release that St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon was also hit by "temporary flooding" due to two sprinkler lines bursting.

The authority said that the flooding caused no disruption to emergency departments, patient care areas, or visitor access.

"Navigation through the facility may be impacted as SHA maintenance staff work to remediate affected areas,"SHA said.

Plumber, city give tips

The bursting water lines have plumbers working around the clock.

"Between Saturday and Sunday, we probably had over 200 people calling in," said Brenden Myers, co-owner of Family Plumbing and Heating in Regina.

Myers said most calls have been related to frozen water lines and furnaces unable to work.

He said his business was prepared for the cold snap and is urging others to plan ahead for the rest of winter. He said opening up cabinets with pipes in them around sinks can help by allowing warm air to flow around the pipes.

"Or turn the tap on just a little bit because as long as the water is moving it won't freeze," he said.

The City of Regina also shared a list of tips on Monday afternoon to help people stay prepared. The city said people should keep their garage doors closed if there are water pipes inside and set their thermostat to no lower than 12 C at night.

Myers said issues with furnaces are typically caused by ice buildup on vents. He said people canknock the ice off of the vents as a quicksolution.

He also said people should also keep portable heaters on standby in case a furnace does experience complications during the cold weather.