With temperatures hovering below freezing for the 10th day in a row, plumbers around the area have reported an increase in calls.
Businesses said calls came steadily throughout the holiday weekend and into Tuesday. With low temperatures expected to stay below 15 degrees through Friday night, plumbers said homeowners should take basic precautions to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting.
Missouri American Water also reported an increase in water main breaks because of the cold temperatures.
Shawn Chilton owns All Clear Pumping and Sewer, which serves Jefferson City and Columbia. Chilton said around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday his company already had received 13 calls for service and began working on calls for frozen and burst water pipes at 6 a.m.
During cold weather, homes with little insulation remain especially vulnerable to frozen pipes, he said.
"We have a lot of frozen lines today from trailers," Chilton said.
Chilton said his company received several calls from people reporting bad smells caused by condensation frozen over the outlets of rooftop pipes that vent sewer gases.
Rob Marrone, owner of Roto Rooter's Jefferson City office, said his company received 30-40 calls over the past few days as temperatures hovered just above zero degrees.
"It's usually not this cold this time of year," Marrone said.
B&H Well Drilling Owner Greg Bonnot said Tuesday afternoon his company received 20 calls for service just that day from owners with well problems. Most problems, he said, came from owners with frozen water lines in well houses.
"We've just been running our tails off," Bonnot said.
Many customers put heat lamps in their well houses to prevent lines from freezing, Bonnot said. In most recent years, that was sufficient to fend off frozen lines. Because of the extreme temperatures, though, this line of protection hasn't been enough to prevent frozen lines in many well houses, he said.
Bonnot said his four crews worked each day since the cold snap started just after Christmas. These types of temperatures are not unprecedented for the area, but they feel colder than temperatures experienced by the region in recent winters.
"We just haven't had a winter for four or five years," Bonnot said.
Missouri American Water spokesman Brian Russell said the utility had seven water main breaks because of cold temperatures over the holiday weekend, and two additional water mains broke Tuesday. Missouri American also received more than 30 calls from homeowners with frozen water meters, which independent contractors were working to fix.
"If someone sees a water main break, please tell us so we can get to it as fast as we can," Russell said.
Homeowners can take a few basic steps to prevent pipes from freezing or bursting.
Those with water pipes in crawl spaces should run water continuously to prevent lines from freezing, Chilton said.
"Running water doesn't freeze," he said. "As long as some water is running, they'll be able to stop it from freezing."
Bonnot said his company receives the most calls at the beginning of cold snaps like this. As cold snaps wear on, people get wise and take preventative measures, like covering water pipes in heat tape.
"The biggest thing is people need to keep heating and insulation on the (well) house," Bonnot said.
Marrone said if pipes freeze or burst, turn the water off to prevent the problem from getting worse.
The National Weather Service expects the cold snap to continue late into the week. The agency forecast a high of 22 degrees today and a low of 3 tonight. For Thursday, the agency predicted a high of 17 degrees and a low of 6. Friday's high is expected at 23 degrees with a low of 8.
By Saturday, though, the cold weather may thaw, with the agency predicting a high of 34 degrees and a low of 28.