Resident urges city to inspect frozen service line; staff cites code and temporary fix

A Seldovia homeowner told the City Council on Feb. 23 that his private water service has been frozen for more than three weeks and that the likely blockage is at a city valve, prompting a staff pledge to inspect the line and a temporary workaround to restore water.

“My name is Joe Zapotoski, and… our water line from the city has been frozen for over 3 weeks,” Zapotoski said during the public-presentation portion of the meeting. He described disconnecting house plumbing in the crawl space and inserting “quarter inch OD plastic tubing” to probe inward, which he said stopped at “the actual valve.” He also presented a receipt he said was from the city for materials, and showed a one-inch ball valve as an example of what he believes the crew encountered.

City Manager Heidi read the relevant municipal language for the council: Seldovia Municipal Code Title 13.0408 assigns maintenance of mains and accepted service connections to the city utility (SWU) but makes the customer responsible for the water extension “from the key box to the premises.” The code, she said, also notes the utility will thaw frozen mains while the customer is responsible for thawing frozen connections unless the freeze resulted from an SWU action not in compliance with rules.

Heidi said Public Works had installed an insulated box around a nearby fire hydrant and routed a running hose into the Zapotoskis’ home to provide temporary water while crews plan to excavate and inspect the extension in spring. “The next step would be to dig and ensure that that pipe is insulated and protected moving forward so we don't have this issue again,” she said.

Residents and former utility workers who spoke at the meeting described standard installation practices that can affect frost vulnerability: a depth of roughly four feet, a pea-gravel bedding, a layer of rigid insulation (blue board) and, where plastic (HDPE) pipe is used, heat trace if insulation is insufficient. One commenter said that without adequate insulation “you gotta heat trace it” and described self-regulating heat-trace systems used elsewhere.

Council members and staff discussed longer-term remedies: improved as-built records or a digital map of service locations, code review to clarify responsibility and a spring inspection to verify depth and insulation. Mayor noted the community had previously discussed mapping the system and suggested technology could reduce reliance on paper as-builts.

Zapotoski and his wife Marilyn said they were grateful for the temporary water provision but urged the city to determine whether the extension between the curb valve and the city main had been installed with insulation and to record future work so property owners and the city have consistent documentation.

The item was not a formal action on the council agenda; staff said crews would continue to work with the homeowners and that the council could consider code language updates after staff reporting and inspection.

Ending: The city provided temporary running water and scheduled a spring dig-and-inspect as the next concrete step.