As winter’s grip tightens and January temperatures fall, it is important to take proper precautions for your home’s water pipes. This is important because water expands as it freezes, putting pressure on the pipes, which can cause them to break.

In geographic regions that rely on snowpack for their source water, like Denver, this is a very important issue. The National Weather Service calls the amount of water in snow the “snow ratio.” As a rule, 12 inches of snow can represent one inch of water in the Upper Midwest states.