AUBURN – Some Auburn homeowners are being asked to keep a trickle running in the faucet to keep their water from freezing.

John Storer of the Auburn Water District said he’s already asked 85 residents who have homes that were prone to freezing water pipes in the past to keep a tap open.

“By and large, this was a colder January than we’ve seen recently,” Storer said. “We keep a water gauge at Lake Auburn and it recorded a 24 degrees below zero temperature last month. I don’t remember it ever getting that low.”

According to National Weather Service records, temperatures have dropped below freezing every day since Nov. 27, and have stayed below freezing for 42 of the past 66 days.

Forecasts call for freezing temperatures to continue for the foreseeable future, with highs reaching the 40s on Sunday.

The extended cold has led to deeper frosts underground and greater potential for frozen pipes.

It hasn’t resulted in more broken lines, Storer said. Water crews have responded to four broken lines since Jan. 1, and six this winter. That included a big break on Center Street two weeks ago that snarled morning traffic. But it’s below the season average of 10 breaks.

“And one we know was construction-related, not because of the weather,” he said. “We’re very happy with our luck so far.”

But there have been nine reports of frozen water service so far this year, and that is an increase. Services can freeze when ice blocks the half-inch to 1-inch diameter pipes that supply households with water.

“Last year, I don’t think we had a single frozen service,” Storer said.

Storer has a list of 85 homes that are likely to freeze up – 13 regularly and 72 less frequently. Water officials typically contact those residents at some point during the winter, asking them to leave a trickle of water running in their houses.

“Usually, we approach the first group by the end of January, but we were a full two weeks early this year,” he said. “If it gets extremely cold for a long time, we’ll start working on the second group. We didn’t activate them last year, but we’ve already started talking to them this year.”

Storer said he’ll look at the nine frozen pipes this year. Some might have been caused by storm-sewer work last summer that left voids in the soil. That soil is the pipe’s normal insulation.

He will add the rest to next year’s list of homes prone to freezing. In the meantime, they’re being urged to keep their water taps open a bit, too.

“We’ve done a pretty good job of staying ahead of the frost most years,” Storer said. “We manage to get to most homes and warn them before anything can happen.”