The "Drip Plan"

Last year if you lived in Niagara Falls, you might have had your pipes freeze and not have had water for weeks at a time. Well the city of Niagara Falls is saying to leave your faucet running all winter. They want you to turn a sink in your house on, preferably the lowest one such as in the basement, and turn the water on until the water coming out is an eighth of an inch in diameter, or the size of a pencil lead. The city notified the people that had this problem last year with a letter stating these instructions. Now many citizens have problems with this. They feel like the city is not doing anything about it and just giving them this "band-aid" solution. Also in the letter, it states that if you have more than an eighth of an inch of water coming out, you will be charged extra. This could be a problem for elderly people who might not be able to decipher an eighth of an inch. Do you think the city should be making more of an effort to try and fix this or just let this minor solution be the end of the problem. Also, should the city pay for the extra money that is being charged to the citizens that have to leave their water?