Water Pooling In Front Yard; Leak?

[D45]

It is hot and dry outside...........I have water pooling in the front yard, which is running down the curb

Not good

It seems like water is kind of near the 'buffalo box' in the front yard

What's my plan of attack?

I am on a community well, about 50 houses in my subdivision, no water meter

 

[SALIV8]

I would start digging carefully after calling 811 to expose the leak if you are able to repair this yourself. Otherwise, I would call a a plumber and figure out responsibility later.

Do you have a hoa? Or responsible party?

Edit- if the leak is after the valve, I would shut the valve if needed to slow/ stop the leak then investigate.

 

[CTyankee]

I'd fill every container, pot, pan, bucket, etc....do the dishes and take a shower....then make the some calls.

 

[pstnbly]

I'd fill every container, pot, pan, bucket, etc....do the dishes and take a shower....then make the some calls.

Good advice. Which side of the valve box is the leak, street side or house side. If it is on the street side it may be the associations problem. on your side your problem. That said it's in everyone's interest to fix the problem. Water leaks like this on private wells can cascade into bigger issues fast.

 

[D45]

It's on the house side of the curb

I know the buried valve was just repaired/replaced about 3-4 years ago,by the previous owner

 

[D45]

We do not have an HOA

 

[LB-1911]

It's on the house side of the curb

I know the buried valve was just repaired/replaced about 3-4 years ago,by the previous owner

You need to start digging, carefully of course.

Good Luck

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

We had a "leak" show up right at the street when we lived in Colorado. The city came out right away when I reported it. The guy had a test strip that he put in the water to check for chlorine. No chlorine detected so he said it was just a seasonal spring and not to worry about it. A week or so later the water stopped flowing. Is your water supply chlorinated? If so, a test strip from a pool store (or a neighbor that has a pool) will let you be sure you're dealing with a water line. If the water isn't chlorinated then it's time to break out the shovel, but as SALIV8 said, ONLY after having the 811 folks come out and make sure that you won't be digging near anything dangerous. The fines are quite steep if you don't call and damage a utility line. If they miss marking something then you're in the clear. The 811 guy should provide you with a ticket number that will keep you out of trouble if you nick a gas line or something.

 

[D45]

Also, there is no change in water pressure and no discoloration

 

[BD1]

Call the city or township or whoever is responsible for the water service. If you close the valve and water stops it's on the leaving side of valve , your side. If it continues then it's the cities . It could even be the city main and the valve isn't even in the picture .

 

[BFHtime]

Do you have sewer or septic system.

If there are leech fields there could be a clog, which could cause that. Address it right away cause if that is waste water over running, that could get expensive.

 

[pancho400cid]

I had a similar situation. Long story short the leak was in a water main and it was about 10 or 15 feet from where the water was coming up in the yard, and 6 or 8 feet deep if I recall correctly. The city came out and repaired it, and had to cut out part of my concrete driveway to do it. They poured asphalt once done for a temporary driveway and came back later to fix the concrete. A few months before it was all back together permanently.

 

[D45]

I have a community treated well and sewer, not septic

 

[D45]

How would I shut off/close the valve?

I see the blue water "disk" just ontop of the grass........I assume though I need a special took to shut it off?

There is not access cover or cap, which I could pop off and turn the valve........just a round metal disk

 

[LB-1911]

How would I shut off/close the valve?

I see the blue water "disk" just ontop of the grass........I assume though I need a special took to shut it off?

Get a light, open it up and see what it looks like -

Hardware store / Box store should have one - Your neighbor might as well.

Valve / Curb Key
https://www.reedmfgco.com/en/products/water-services-tools-and-machines/valve-and-curb-keys/

 

[LB-1911]

How would I shut off/close the valve?

I see the blue water "disk" just ontop of the grass........I assume though I need a special took to shut it off?

There is not access cover or cap, which I could pop off and turn the valve........just a round metal disk

Does it pivot?

or

**In some cities or towns that provide municipal water supply to buildings, an outdoor water main shutoff valve will be found between the street and the building,marked by a large valve, often embossed "water".


**Source of photo and more @ http://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Shutoff_Valve_Location.php

 

[MOwens]

Just call your water department they will shut it off for you. You also don't want to let it go too long or your yard will colapse where it is leaking. We had to replace our copper water line a couple of years ago and they had to bore from the shutoff to the house pulling a new water line. Now it is all one piece of plastic tubing but that leaked too when the fitting broke at the shutoff and we had to dig up our yard again to fix that. It really upset my father as he is a lawn junkie and it took quite a while for everything to get back to normal.

 

[kbs2244]

Not your problem.
Call who ever is responsible for the water system.

 

[D45]

Well I am not sure if the actual valve is bad.......after further inspection

The cap looks like what LB-1911 posted

However, the grass/ground is wet about 8 feet away (up hill) from the valve up

Where it is pooling, is down hill, near the curb........which is ever so slightly trickling over the curb

I am suspecting the supply line, between the house and the curb valve........failed (somehow)

 

[D45]

I am fairly certain the supply line feeding the house is poly

 

[fl18guy]

you dont have sprinklers by any chance do you. If so they might be leaking . If was just a thought.

 

[D45]

Good idea, but no..........no buried irrigation system

 

[D45]

I'm going call a few plumbers tomorrow

I want to disconnect the main line coming into the main shut off valve (in to the basement) and then shut off the valve (near the curb).........to have the line scoped to see exactly what's going on

No sense to blindly dig, right?

They should be able to scope the main feed line and find the break right?

 

[Kevin54]

It's on the house side of the curb

I know the buried valve was just repaired/replaced about 3-4 years ago,by the previous owner

Not your problem.Call who ever is responsible for the water system.

Once it is in the owners yard, he may be responsible. If it was in the street, it definitely is the city's problem.

D45....I would call the city before you call a plumber. It may be the fact that they will cover it to the shutoff as the outside shutoff is required by the city. They should have a 24hr. emergency number for the Water Department. They will look at it and tell you whether they will work on it, or if you would be responsible and then you would need a plumber. The bad thing about needing a plumber is the fact that they may need to subcontract out to someone who has a backhoe, or someone to dig by hand that deep for them. Any plumber I know will sub out the dirt work. One thing in your favor is the ground is saturated, so it will make digging a little easier, but heavier. You should be able to get down to your frost line fairly easily, but you'll be shoveling mud. And you will need to call 811 so they can mark out your utility lines to know whether they tossed another utility line in with it.

When I had a sewer go bad, I called OOPS which was the designated number to call for utilities back in the day. The different utility companies marked out where my gas, water, and electric lines, and sewer were. The sewer was marked by the city, the gas was marked by the city, the water was marked by the city, and the electric was marked by the electric company. The water and gas were in an area by their self. Sewer by itself, and electric no where close. We were about 20 feet into uncovering the sewer line and damned if we didn't hit the gas and the water crossing over the top of the sewer, which was not supposed to be there.

So even though you get your utilities marked out, still be cautious when digging. Also with that, don't take it as gospel when the city tells you that your water is so many feet down. My sewer, as I was told by the city was supposed to be 5 1/2-6' deep at the street. I was almost 9' down. So just warning you that even though the city will have records of things, they may not be exactly correct.

Good luck and keep us informed as to how things turn out.

 

[D45]

I live in an unincorporated area....... private water system that is not handled by a municipality

I'll make some calls tomorrow morning

I know for a fact the previous homeowner had the buried buffalo box replaced like 3-4 years ago and had to pay $1700 for it

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Private well, 50 houses on it. This could get interesting.

Since it appears you recently bought the house, get the paper work and carefully read the joint well/community well agreement. Usually the agreement is written well (sorry ... good) enough for a regular person to understand who is responsible for repairing what.

Do you know who owns the streets? Are the streets in the subdivision public roads or private streets? If they are public roads (which would be my presumption at this point), the water lines will probably NOT be in the street, but in easements along the street right of way, although the water lines will cross the streets as necessary.

I presume you pay for the water, even though there is no meter. Who do you pay for the water? I would talk to that person first. They will tell you who usually does work on the community water system. If the subdivision is happy with that person, I would call them. You don't want to pay for someone to go to school on the water system on your nickel.

Keep us posted.

 

[D45]

County highway plows the streets in winter and the roads (only 4) are all public roads

The subdivision has its own water "utility bill" for the flat rate water bill........

I will check the house paperwork and see, and also call the "water" director for our subdivision

Some say I am responsible for the water only once it hits the house, others say once the water is on my property

Like I said above, the previous owner shelled out $1700 for a new buried buffalo box, maybe not knowing who was responsible for its repair

 

[Mike camp]

Are you tied into town or city water ? If so you may have a service leak on you water line coming from the water main to your home

 

[crguy]

Are you tied into town or city water ? If so you may have a service leak on you water line coming from the water main to your home

Reading the previous comments would have answered that question.

 

[D45]

I can turn the blue cap (for the main shut off) near the curb by hand........

I also measured where the wet part of the grass starts, and its about 16'-17' feet from the curb

Now, could the main shut off be leaking again and leaching up grade towards the house? Maybe I guess

 

[CTyankee]

Usually anything from that main shutoff to the house is going to be your responsibility. You could try and shut that value and see if the leak stops. Around my parts, if you screw up the main shutoff, you pay to fix it. They can be old, stuck and rusty. Lots of gun-shy plumbers want you to call the water company to do it(in your case it would be whoever maintaints the well?).

I'm gonna guess you have a leak in the line between your house and that shutoff. You can have a small leak and not notice any drop in pressure.

 

[fl18guy]

if you can turn that valve by hand, the valve might be broke. I cant turn my off by hand unless I have the valve wrench.

 

[D45]

Yeah the cap spins effortlessly.........odd

 

[CTyankee]

That cap is just that...a cap for the shaft of the shutoff. It will probably pull right off. The actual shutoff is at the bottom of the shaft. You need a long "key" to turn it on and off.

 

[LB-1911]

That cap is just that...a cap for the shaft of the shutoff. It will probably pull right off. The actual shutoff is at the bottom of the shaft. You need a long "key" to turn it on and off.

Been there already...

How would I shut off/close the valve?

I see the blue water "disk" just on top of the grass........I assume though I need a special took to shut it off?

There is not access cover or cap, which I could pop off and turn the valve........just a round metal disk

Get a light, open it up and see what it looks like -

Hardware store / Box store should have one - Your neighbor might as well.

Valve / Curb Key
https://www.reedmfgco.com/en/products/water-services-tools-and-machines/valve-and-curb-keys/

Does it pivot?

or

**In some cities or towns that provide municipal water supply to buildings, an outdoor water main shutoff valve will be found between the street and the building,marked by a large valve, often embossed "water".


**Source of photo and more @ http://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Water_Shutoff_Valve_Location.php

Well I am not sure if the actual valve is bad.......after further inspection

The cap looks like what LB-1911 posted

However, the grass/ground is wet about 8 feet away (up hill) from the valve up

Where it is pooling, is down hill, near the curb........which is ever so slightly trickling over the curb

I am suspecting the supply line, between the house and the curb valve........failed (somehow)

 

[CTyankee]

Been there already...

My bad....So are you saying that the pictured "top" is actually a handle to a long shaft for the valve? Never saw an outside shutoff exposed like that. Sorry to the OP if what I said is not the case..

 

[BillK]

I don't understand why you would even be thinking of messing with it yourself without calling whoever is responsible for the community water first. If you mess something up that is their responsibility, they might blame you.

I just don't get you guys sometimes ??

 

[mrpizza]

That blue cap in your grass is the lid , the shutoff is down inside. I think thats whats going on here..

 

[pstnbly]

You are definitely leaking. Probably at a compression fitting where they spliced in the new "buffalo box". Me personally, I would carefully dig at the spot you see "8 feet uphill" and more than likely you will find the leak. The good thing is the digging should be easy.

 

[D45]

Would or could the dry as heck july weather cause the ground to ever so slightly separate, and pull back too hard on the fitting?

I will call Diggers (811 utility locate) tomorrow and some plumbers