Most of branch pipes froze up because they were incorrectly laid

In 99% of the cases, the branch water pipes got frozen because they were laid at shallow depth. The conclusion was reached by a special commission that consists of specialists of the Association “Moldova Apa-Canal”, the Technical University of Moldova (UTM) and the Design Institute “Urban-Proiect”, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a news conference on March 14, the executive director of “Moldova Apa-Canal” Iuri Nistor said that the previous years the water pipes also froze up, but such cases were few in number. Owing to the low temperatures this winter, there was a very large number of frozen branch pipes. “This situation aroused people’s concerns and we thus decided to create a commission that aims to establish the causes of the water pipe failure. The commission will formulate solutions for preventing such situations in the future,” said Iuri Nistor. More than 2,000 pipes froze up in Chisinau. The situation in Chisinau is not the worst yet. According to the commission, Straseni district was the worst affected. Almost 45% of the pies there iced up. Telenesti district comes next with 42% of the pipes frozen. The southern settlements were not seriously affected. Sergiu Calos, the dean of the UTM’s Urbanism and Architecture Faculty, said that 69% of the consumers in the private sector were affected. “The pipes froze up also because they go through foundations and under stone fences,” he stated. According to the members of the commission, the works to unfreeze the popes and replace the damaged ones go on. The process is difficult and only five-seven branch pipes are unfrozen daily. The specialists will inventory the branch pipes and issue warnings to the consumers so that they change the depth of the pipes or replace them.