I had a large lake in my back yard and found it was the main water line coming from the water meter which is in a "water can 3 feet under ground. The break was 25 feet from the meter. As i dug down and found the leak was at a coupling joint and the pipe was separated about 1/2"(pulled apart). The city here uses a back hoe to dig up the old meter and can. I went to the city manager and he said water lines around town break all the time! I repaired it and he may take off some for the leak...thats it! He probably knows their back hoe snagged the water line but he won't admit it. Has anyone seen a pipe break like that ....am I possibly right? Also, according to my water meter bill the leak started right after they replaced the old meter. I hope this link will show you the pics i took of it!
http://www.savepic.com/freepicturehosting/is.php?i=620958&img=IMG_0015.JPG
http://www.savepic.com/freepicturehosting/is.php?i=620959&img=IMG_0017.JPG
2007-09-04 08:53:21 · 6 answers · asked by jazcomania 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I worked pvc pipe for a lot of years I've seen the joint pull apart because of a bad glue job but this appears after the joint. I don't see any large roots that could cause this so with the timing given I have to agree with you. Pipe does not arbi trarily snap off like that there has to be an applied force. You shouldn't have to pay for the water lost and the related sewage charge. I hope I'm understanding you about the joint.
2007-09-04 09:19:35 · answer #1 · answered by petethen2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most likely like you say the backhoe snagged on meter and broke the pipe. I've seen plastic pipe buried too shallow leak at joints when stepped on but the ends were together NOT pulled apart like that.
They can always argue the displacement was caused by the saturation of the soil. It's possible too.
Bottom line is it's pretty hard to fight city hall. About the only way they'd take the blame was if water started gushing from the ground at that very moment or very shortly after the backhoe work was done.
2007-09-04 09:06:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It should be easy to determine what your normal actual water usage is, and get the bill corrected. But, if you prefer to try to get compensated for your time and work, then maybe not. So the city replaced the meter, and the pipe after that is your problem. It sounds like you fixed the pipe. So, getting the bill corrected back to your normal usage would be the ultimate goal at this point. Complaining any more than that is no good. Stuff happens.
2007-09-04 19:23:35 · answer #3 · answered by David K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can,t see why there is PVC pipe running to the house, when i installed my water line i was told by the water co that i needed to use 1" black flexable pipe, thats what i ran and 7 yrs later it still works[ allows the line to move with out breaking,]
2007-09-04 09:54:01 · answer #4 · answered by William B 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the past I have had situtions where turning the main off and back on has caused a poorly glued coupling to come apart
2007-09-04 09:15:33 · answer #5 · answered by sam d 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
once corrctly joined pvc does not pull apart it sounds like the person working on your line did not let the glue set long enough. when you put pvc together you have to hold the connection together for about a minute if not the pieces will seperate themselves
2007-09-04 09:55:31 · answer #6 · answered by customtrouble 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋