Last week, some city residents may have experienced a stop to their water service or found lower pressure when they turned on the faucets in their homes.

The result of the bitter cold temperatures near zero that hit the area, followed by thawing, it is only inevitable that winter brings with it freezing pipes, whether in the home or in the infrastructure of a larger area.

The city of Ashland saw significant numbers of population left without water five years ago when a major main burst, causing a water crisis there for more than a week.

Fortunately, no one in Ironton had to deal with anything like that and service was restored in a timely fashion.

City workers were out, working through the night, many times in single digit temperatures, to guarantee repairs were made as quickly as possible.

They are to be commended and thanked for this task and officials and residents should be grateful for their work.

While things warmed up in following days, it is likely we have not seen the last of severe cold and harsh temperatures this season.

While there is not much they can do to impact situations with water mains, residents can still take steps to protect water pipes under their home.

Heating tape is commonly available at any hardware store and offers protections from freezing.

In addition, pipe insulators are another purchase, if your pipes do not have them already.

Experts advise people to keep a thin stream of water or a drip running from faucets when temperatures drop to single digits. By keeping the flow of water moving, it can stave off freezing.

If your pipes should freeze, it is a good idea to leave a faucet turned on to a drip. This will relieve pressure when the flow returns and could lessen the risk of a bust in the line.