Bryan: I have a reference book that I use to, amongst other things, look up pipe sizes of many types and sizes. the measurements given are for outside circumference which is what matters most when trying to size pipe and fittings. One of my suppliers also was kind enough to give me a thin, flat tape measure graduated down to 10 ths of an inch which is what the table gives the sizes in. If I remember, I'll look up the sizes you are referring to and post them. We use 2 different meter sizes here, 1/2" and 5/8" x 3/4". A 5/8 x 3/4 meter is necked down by one nominal trade size within the meter body to increase the flow velocity through meter thereby giving a more accurate measurement of the actual flow. It is definitely possible to plumb past the meter with 5/8 or 3/4" pipe, our town uses 3/4" routinely except when we run into an installation where some ding dong penny pincher used 1/2" many years ago. FWIW - with copper pipe used in plumbing: "Nominal" = the inside diameter of the pipe which varies by thickness of the pipe. O.D. = outside diameter and is a constant size, it is always 1/8" larger than the nominal size. I.E. 1/2" nominal is always 5/8" O.D.

My guess.. lack of snow. Snow insulates the ground from the really cold weather. No snow allows the cold to penetrate the ground deeper. My second guess is that you have black polyethylene water line buried. It's very common to use this material in private water systems, especially in long runs from one building to another or from the well to the building. The problem with this type of pipe is that you cannot apply heat to it effectively because it will deform or melt if the temp gets too hot. I agree that your problem is likely quite close to one of the buildings. If the outbuilding where the pump is has heat in it, then the heat is likely just enough to keep the pump and pressure tank from freezing. If so, my third guess is that this building is where the problem is. You need to go to Home Depot's electrical aisle and buy a heating cable and a roll of black electrical tape. These cables come in various lengths and are usually orange in colour. You will have to wrap it around the plastic pipe tightly starting where the pipe leaves the building. Use the electrical tape to secure the end of the cable that is furthest from the plug, to the pipe and then continue wrapping until you have used up the entire length. Use more electrical tape to secure the heating cable. If you have some old blankets around, wrap them around the heating cable to help hold the heat in. Plug in the heating cable and just leave it. Go in the house and partially open a tap and leave it open. Make sure the drain is open. The idea here is to gently heat the pipe and the water that is in the pipe. If the freeze up is close to the building, the warmed water should thaw it. If it thaws even a little, water will begin to flow from the tap you opened. Warmer water will flow toward the frozen area and thaw it out very quickly. Let the water run for a good twenty minutes to get all the ice out of the line. I would keep this heating cable in place and turned on. If you read the directions, you will find that these cables have a thermostat built into them where the orange meets the black. Tape this thermostat to the pipe. Anyone capable of planning a wedding can certainly accomplish this task. Good luck and let us know how you made out.

yankelb, I don't know a specific code against what you are proposing. Mechanically, you may be able to do what you want and it may not even be prohibited by code. What I can tell you is that it isn't done. It's unprofessional and that should be enough for you to think about not doing it. Whenever I'm tempted to take a shortcut, I think about how I would feel if an inspector were looking over my work. If I would be embarrassed, that's a good indication that it's a bad idea, even if it's not prohibited.

Sorry bout useing a term you aren't familar with. DOWNSTREAM in this case simply means all water except that which is routed to heater,,,,,, Visualize the single supply pipe coming from crub and entering your house. Once inside house,a tee (fork,split,converter,) is installed on supply pipe causing a portion of water to exit supply and go into water heater while the remaining portion of water continues to run to every single COLD water tap in the home. After the water splits,the two never remix until in the sink or tub. It is this water which is routed to cold facuets that is to be filtered. I don't understand why filters arn't popular in your town if water tastes so awful. The water where I live is great so I have no first hand reccomendations on which filter preforms best.