PINEDALE – The Pinedale Town Council and town staff encourage residents to keep water line bleeders running through mid-April to prevent frozen pipes.

Councilman Tyler Swafford, serving as mayor pro tempore at the March 13 council meeting, described the winter of 2022-2023 as a “rough year all around” in terms of freezing and damaged pipelines across the Town of Pinedale. The town engineer, Matt Bowers, was in the process of gathering data on the community’s main water lines and will present his findings to the town council at its next meeting on Monday, March 27, said Swafford.

Abram Pearce, director of public works, recommended residents continue to bleed their water lines through April to keep pipes clear as freezing conditions persist. The town allocates an additional 20000 gallons of water per month for most residential customers through April 15 to allow bleeding.

Even though temperatures are beginning to reach the 30s in Sublette County, the springtime thawing and refreezing process can drive frost deeper into the ground where pipes are located, Pearce said.

“The pipes are still surrounded by ice deep in the ground,” Pearce added. “The frost has not left the soil yet.”

Several residents who live on Quartz Avenue or Jade Street near Pine Creek reported problems with frozen pipes to the town council in January and February.

The Pinedale Roundup and Sublette Examiner offices on South Lake Avenue were without water for several days in late February due to frozen pipes.

Council members passed a unanimous motion on Feb. 27 to waive water and sewer overage fees in the Redstone Second Addition, including Quartz Avenue and portions of Jade Street and Shanley Avenue, to “promote water bleeding due to the high volume of line freezing.”