Recently in Eden Prairie our Water Utilities staff was called to a home with water pouring out of it. the home is in foreclosure and nobody lives there. To compound matters the gas and electric had been turned off, but nobody had notified the 
city to turn off the water. Once the cold weather set in, a pipe cracked and the flooding began.
Legislation has been passed that now requires Center Point and Excel Energy to notify the city when they are shutting down gas and power. if we get that notice then our utility staff can shut off the water and avoid further damage to the home. I got these pictures from Rick Wahlen our Manager of Utilities.
In Photo 3, note the ice coming out of the siding in the upstairs floor of the house.
These photos indicate the water has been running out of the house for quite a while. At a conservative 2 gallons per minute flowing from a cracked ½-inch copper pipe for the upstairs shower, the home would have soaked up 2880 gallons per day before seeping out of the house.
