Bitter cold threatens to freeze water lines, city warns

Some Flandreau residents have had to monitor water pipes more closely lately after the temperature of water out of the tap was near freezing.
The city asked homeowners to check their taps by measuring the water temperature after letting the faucet run a while. If it is close to 32 degrees, the city suggested letting a trickle of water run to prevent lines from freezing.
At city hall, water out of the tap measured 33 degrees early last week, cold enough that staff worked to make sure pipes wouldn’t freeze, said Karen Gundvaldson, finance officer.
The city heard reports of three places where water froze, including two homes and one commercial building that doesn’t have someone using it every day.
Even though there is a lot of snow cover to provide insulation in many places, some homes or businesses may not have that where their pipes are, she said. That’s the case at city hall where the parking lot is cleared around the building.

“We have no snow cover at all,” she said. “We’ve had it freeze before.”
The city consulted with rural water before letting residents know that the bitter cold temperatures were causing some problems. There have been no reports of more issues since early last week, she said.
In other city business at the council meeting March 4,
•Police Chief Zach Weber introduced newly hired officer Jerod Mosley. Mosley, 31, is a native of Virginia, lives in Sioux Falls, is a member of the Sioux Falls police reserve and has been employed by the Social Security Administration. He served four years in the U.S. Army and worked two years in security patrol.
He will need to become certified by attending training in Pierre within a year.
Weber also introduced police officer Taylor White, a Flandreau native who also was hired recently. White completed the 13-week law enforcement training in Pierre and is certified.
White told council members about the three levels of training he received. He said it was helpful that he had worked a few weeks before going to the school and that other Flandreau officers had trained him some ahead of time.
•Councilors approved an agreement with Michael Johnson to lease cemetery land for $1,620 a year with the option of leasing it for three years. Johnson has previously leased the land and was the only one to put in a bid.
•The council also approved an agreement with the South Dakota Department of Transportation so that federal money for any projects can come through the state to the city. While the city hasn’t had an agreement in the past, this formalizes giving the state permission to seek reimbursement from the federal government, Gundvaldson said.