Fort Frances contends with frozen water line at water tower

The town of Fort Frances is having to spend an extra $175,000 at its water tower.

A line at the water tower froze earlier this month because of a faulty heat trace line designed to prevent freezing.

Water to the tower was turned back on near the beginning of January after it was shut down for several months to allow for upgrades to the structure.

Operations and Facilities Manager Travis Rob says they noticed the problem days before turning the water back on.

“We were hoping that we would be able to get up to it and make the repairs before it thawed,” says Rob.

“However, if you recall, shortly after we were there, it started to warm. And unfortunately, the line started to thaw a couple of days after we were there. So that changed our plan a little bit in terms of how we were going to act.”

Rob says the failed heat trace line is being replaced with two lines, a primary and a secondary one, in the event the primary line fails.

“It will trip the heat trace line that fails and kick over to the other one,” says Rob.

Rob says staff will also make routine checks of the line to ensure it continues to function as intended.