City water line leak flooding my yard

[t74]

You should speak to your insurance agent. What you describe is not a “flood water” problem. It is a water leak problem.

Thank you. I'll pursue it next week.

 

[t74]

Sand that got into the houses water lines ,, well any time work is done like meter swaps when meter is not in a basement it is wise to take off clothes washer hoses and start flushing the lines then take aerators off faucets and do the same. As to water in your yard I suggest you look at getting a decent pair of mud boots on and consider either doing it your self or having it done but your back yard sounds like it could use some channels to help drain water to the creek, your city was not responsible to flush your homes water lines and you should learn if your city has a office where you can file claims for other damage such as damages to the yard from the leakage. ( up here we are in full mud season now with ground thawing and it will suck your boots right off your feet in some places and Remulak knows how deep your cars can sink in it too

We had no notice that the meter had been changed until we had problems and looked at the bill which reports the meter ID number. We originally thought we had a failure of our lines, but ours were fine. We did flush our lines when we noted problems but the dishwasher was an issue. They did not even leave a doorknob tag that the water would be turned off for service.

There is no way to channel the water off the property to the creek (5 houses plus one street) or stormwater drain (800 feet and even more houses and streets to cross) without damaging someone elses' property. It is slightly up hill to the street so it would not naturally drain and we would have to do a concrete curbcut at the lowest elevation which the city is unlikely to allow. Dumping it down the driveway means it would have to go to a slightly higher elevation; even the adjacent neighbor's driveway is higher than the water level. It would need to be pumped out or have a significant amount of topsoil added which would create problems for the uphill neighbor's drainage in the future.

In our experience when the city replaced the lines as a standard maintenance then they would attempt to return the yards to the original state. They patch the streets. This damage is not on the utility easement and is centered about 40-50 feet from the meter. A neighbor also has a muddy yard but not standing water.

My question is whether the city is indemnified against damages they cause especially if it is due to poor workmanship by a city or contracted work crew. The city has the equipment to drain this type of standing water; the problem is getting them to do it. Since we have been going around with them for several weeks about this current problem (they wanted to know if it was chlorinated water which is why DEQ was involved before they would even look into it).

 

[t74]

That's the way it is here as well.

This is a 50s era house where the houses are 1200-1500 sq feet on small city/suburban lots. I learned that the cutoffs are at the fire hydrants. The feeder line is across the street if they had installed individual house cutoffs they would be there; the meters are basically at the house's curb. Our city workers try really hard, but administration policies are not proactive in preventive maintenance and replacement of aged water utility feeders in neighborhoods unless they have numerous failures.

 

[t74]

At the city I work for, we install a cutoff box at the edge of the right-of way. Generally speaking, on the house side of the sidewalk. We maintain the pipe from the main to the cutoff box. The property owner is responsible from the cutoff box to the meter. When the water field services folks go out on a leak call, they determine who has to make the repair by exercising the cutoff: If the water department can control the leak by turning the water off at the property line, it's up to the property owner, if not - it's on us.

The water is now bubbling out of the street and curb between the house and the feeder. The situation is getting worse. I wish it would just fail catastrophically.

 

[quincy]

The water is now bubbling out of the street and curb between the house and the feeder. The situation is getting worse. I wish it would just fail catastrophically.

The bubbling should be reported to the city - and I would contact your insurer now rather than wait.

Are any of your neighbors affected by the water line leak?

 

[t74]

The bubbling should be reported to the city - and I would contact your insurer now rather than wait.

Are any of your neighbors affected by the water line leak?

The good thing is that we now have pictures

Neighbor closest to our meter has damp yard - especially along the fence line but nowhere near as bad. The next closest neighbor is MIA. She has not even responded to letters. We are ready to get the police to do a welfare check since no one has seen her lately although she does have family nearby so she may be living with her child die to COVID. The city will not enter her property without her consent so we do not know the conditions in her yard. The third adjacent neighbor (uphill and towards the street) is fine

The leak has been reported to the city this am, and we are still waiting. I spoke with them yesterday for nearly an hour getting more info about line locations on adjacent streets, fire hydrants, and shut off locations, etc. I already had learned the locations of the sewer and storm sewer lines and they had had cameras run already because they are actually closer to the problem than the water line.

We love this little neighborhood; one set of neighbors have lived her more than 30 years,the other over 20 and our disabled child nearly 15. Unfortunately, too many of the houses are being flipped or are now being used as rentals. I get calls daily from investors wanting to buy the house. The market for smaller houses is crazy!

 

[LdiJ]

At the city I work for, we install a cutoff box at the edge of the right-of way. Generally speaking, on the house side of the sidewalk. We maintain the pipe from the main to the cutoff box. The property owner is responsible from the cutoff box to the meter. When the water field services folks go out on a leak call, they determine who has to make the repair by exercising the cutoff: If the water department can control the leak by turning the water off at the property line, it's up to the property owner, if not - it's on us.

Interestingly enough, my water meter is where the water line meets the house and the water company is responsible for anything before the meter. On the other hand, my mother's house, which is much newer, has her water meter right at where the line meets the storm drain. For almost a year my mother's water leak at the meter and all of the leakage went into the storm drain so she had no idea. (she was on the budget so her bill stayed the same). She suddenly got hit with a huge bill and fought it hard, but eventually ending up having to pay.

 

[t74]

The city finally showed up. They tested only the water in the meter case and refused to test any of the water in the holes dug about 8" deep into the yard that fill about 1/4 way unless it has just rained when they are to the top or submerged. They only ultrasonically tested the house line from the feeder to the meter and refused to test the feeders. There are feeders (4 ande 6 in) one house each way to the north and west. The feeder to the east runs under a neighbor's driveway where it has been noted that when cars are parked on the concrete there is water weeping from the expansion joints. It is a rental property and the owners don't take the best of care of the house. It is shovel, sample jars and test strips time around the neighborhood later today. We will have every neighbor with any unusual water in their yard call the city's leak reporting center.

We used our pool test strips and found the yard water to have the same chlorine level as the house water at the main house. What is also interesting is that the city used chloramine rather than chlorine. It is known to be harder on older pipes than straight chlorine but has definite advantages.

I guess it will take the Department of Environmental Quality plus a new report by the leak detector to get the city to test the main feeder lines.

 

[t74]

Interestingly enough, my water meter is where the water line meets the house and the water company is responsible for anything before the meter. On the other hand, my mother's house, which is much newer, has her water meter right at where the line meets the storm drain. For almost a year my mother's water leak at the meter and all of the leakage went into the storm drain so she had no idea. (she was on the budget so her bill stayed the same). She suddenly got hit with a huge bill and fought it hard, but eventually ending up having to pay.

The water crew finally removed the meter for the sprinkler system that we have not used for years. They improperly disconnected it, and we had water gushing from the meter box for days before they sent a different crew to correct the problem. Fortunately the crew leader docxumented the issue well. I really lost it when the billing person at the utility office told me they would work out a payment plan for the hundreds of dollars of wasted water that was due to their negligence. Our city has really cutback on city maintenance employees and use far less skilled contractors. Our city crews are great; the contractors not so much.

 

[quincy]

The water crew finally removed the meter for the sprinkler system that we have not used for years. They improperly disconnected it, and we had water gushing from the meter box for days before they sent a different crew to correct the problem. Fortunately the crew leader docxumented the issue well. I really lost it when the billing person at the utility office told me they would work out a payment plan for the hundreds of dollars of wasted water that was due to their negligence. Our city has really cutback on city maintenance employees and use far less skilled contractors. Our city crews are great; the contractors not so much.

Thanks for the update.