Hollywood/Scott,
No one in this area has heard about using stream to thaw frozen pipes so not an option here. Being this far south (west central IL) we don't typically have cold spells that last this long, without a thaw in between.
You're right it's more common farther north. We had a culvert freeze shut on us a few years ago. The hwy department didn't have a clue how to deal with it. Someone I knew in Northern Wisconsin told me their highway department routinely thawed them out with steam.
Come spring my neighbor found a mailbox wedged inside which due to a heavy rain and then hard freeze caused the blockage. No clue whose mailbox, as no one was missing one nearby. My neighbor and I share a driveway where it meets the highway and consequently the culvert Underneath.
