How to Help Prevent Frozen Pipes

Which pipes are most at risk?

Pipes that are most exposed to the elements, including those outdoors and along the exterior walls of your home, may need extra protection during winter months. These include the following:

• Outdoor hose hookups and faucets.
• Swimming pool supply lines.
• Lawn sprinkler lines.
• Water pipes in unheated, interior locations such as basements, crawl spaces, attics, garages, and kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
• Pipes running against exterior walls with little or no insulation.

How to help prevent frozen pipes

Before winter:

• Check your home for areas where water pipes are located in unheated or poorly insulated areas. Be sure to check your basement, attic, crawl space and garage and within cabinets containing plumbing. Hot and cold water pipes should both be insulated.
• Products such as pipe sleeves or UL-listed heat tape or heat cable can help insulate or heat exposed water pipes.

During winter:

• Close inside valves supplying water to outdoor faucets and hookups.
• Open outdoor faucets to allow residual water to drain; be sure to keep them open during the cold weather months, while the water supply is turned off.
• Keep garage doors closed to help protect water pipes located in the garage.
• Open the doors on cabinets where plumbing is located. This can help allow warmer air to circulate around the pipes.
• For pipes that are at risk of freezing (both hot and cold water pipes), let water drip from faucets.
• Keep the heat in your home set at a minimum of 55 degrees.

District's 2026 Schedule of Charges Posted

There is a slight increase in 2026 to the base rate and some of our fees.

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Do You Have a Backflow Device?

KCWD90 has partnered with Backflow Solutions, Inc. (BSI), a third-party contractor, to manage the District's Cross Connection Control Program. BSI provides a web-based tracking program and a more efficient and cost-effective means of managing the District's inventory of backflow prevention assemblies.

What does this mean for you as a backflow customer? Click here to find out.

Here to Serve Our Entire Community

Clean water is essential to the pursuit of health and happiness and King County Water District No. 90 exists to provide these services to everyone in our community. We serve a diverse population and we want to communicate to you, our customers, that we support equality.