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Cold weather also can affect the MDC's underground pipes and water mains. If you see water bubbling up from the ground or street, please call the MDC immediately at (860) 278-7850 ext. 3600.
If basement flooding occurs, due to sewers backing up during heavy rains, your backwater valve may need to be replaced.
does this backwater valve need repair?

PROTECT YOUR PIPES
FROM FREEZING THIS WINTER
Autumn is a good time for you to take steps to prevent water pipes from freezing and bursting this winter.

Insulate water pipes in any "unheated" areas of your basement, such as crawl spaces. Also, inspect your basement for broken windows or especially drafty areas. Bitter cold blowing directly on a water pipe can quicken the freezing process.

Consider draining your outside faucets by:

  1. Closing your shut-off valves (usually located within three feet of the interior basement walls nearest the outside faucet);
  2. Opening your outside faucets to drain the water from the valves to the spigots; and
  3. Leaving your outside faucets open through the winter.
If you are going away for the winter, consider draining your plumbing system even if you intend to leave the heat on. Ask a qualified plumber how to do this. If you receive water from the MDC, call the MDC's Customer Service department at (860) 278-0127 so that your water can be shut off at the curb box as well.

If you use a wood or coal burning stove as the primary source of heat in your home and you also have a conventional water heating system that you seldom use, it is a good practice to occasionally turn on your water heater. Water left standing in a pipe or radiator -- particularly in or near an exterior wall -- can freeze during bitterly cold spells.

If a pipe does break, shut off the main valve nearest to the water meter and call a plumber.

WHAT TO DO
IN AN EMERGENCY
IF SEWAGE BACKS UP IN YOUR HOME

Occasionally, sanitary sewer pipes fail or become blocked, causing sewage to back-up through plumbing fixtures such as basement set tubs, toilets, etc. If you reside in an MDC member town and this situation occurs, you should FIRST CALL THE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT (MDC) ANYTIME, DAY OR NIGHT, at (860) 278-7850 ext 3600.

The MDC will immediately send someone out to investigate your problem. If we determine that your back­up is due to a blockage in the MDC's main sewer (the sewer in the street) our investigator will arrange for an MDC crew to relieve the blockage by cleaning and repairing the main sewer. Once the problem has been corrected, our crew will make all reasonable efforts to assist you in cleaning up your basement.

However, if our investigator finds that the blockage is not in the main sewer, he will inform you that the problem is in your house connection (the sewer line that runs from your house to the main sewer in the street). Since maintenance of the house connection line is your responsibility as a property owner, our investigator will advise you to hire a plumber or sewer rodder to clean your house connection.

Remember, it is important that you call The Metropolitan District first. By doing this you may save the unnecessary expense of hiring outside help if the trouble is in the main sewer. The MDC cannot reimburse a homeowner for costs incurred through the hiring of a plumber or sewer rodder regardless of where the blockage is found.