LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Residents in the Merrimack Valley have heat at the temporary camping sites set up around the city. But there are new problems with a fresh blanket of snow and the big chill that has been around the past few days. Some residents are complaining their pipes are freezing.
“It’s getting worse because as the temperature is changing, it’s getting worse,” said Jose Grullon.
Grullon, along with his two young children, are waiting for water in their temporary trailer in Lawrence.
Two months of living in a trailer following the catastrophic gas explosions, Grullon’s frustrations are starting to reach a boiling point.
“It’s not fair,” Grullon said.
An early blast of winter weather, along with snow overnight, and now problems of frozen pipes, campers are still being winterized.
“The pipes are freezing. Sometimes they can’t pump it out, so you have the smell of the bathroom. It’s out of control,” Grullon said.
Columbia Gas crews, along with a slew of contractors, are still scrambling to get gas to thousands of homes now dealing with another challenge – several inches of snow weighted down by rains.
Residents are trying to be optimistic and understanding.
For Jose, a glimmer of hope that things have to get better soon.
“This is not a couple months. This is just a week, two weeks when you go on a camping trip with your family. This is not living,” Grullon said.
Mayor Dan Rivera says day by day, more and more residents are having gas restored in their homes.
Columbia Gas says they’re still on target homeowners to have homeowners back online by Dec. 16.
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