Got the Uh-Oh Call Today

[Creamer]

My wife called me at work today and said she was in the basement and heard water running but she couldn't find where it was running and asked me if I had anything on outside. No I didn't. She said she couldn't find anything leaking but where could water be running?

She had called the city water department (small town) and they checked the meter and said it was running fairly fast if she wasn't using water. Since it wasn't running into the house I stayed at work and figured I would check it out this evening.

I get home and I can hear the water running where the pipe comes through the basement wall but there is nothing coming into the house. It must be leaking just outside the wall. I guess I know what I am doing tomorrow.

 

[om21braz]

I can sympathize with you. My last experience as yours was on a day it was sleeting outside. Hope you find it easily and can manage a solid fix.

 

[thatguy]

good luck.. and remember.. we love pics..

brian

 

[turnkey4099]

When I bought this place it had a 'damp' basement. signs of water seeping around the base of he perimeter walls. I finally spent one winter with hammer and chisel chopping a drainage channel along the footings inside the basement leading to a sump pump. Finally had a dry basement after a few years. Two years ago the seepage began again aorund 3 of the four sides and standing water at places on the floor.. I found a slow leak at shutoff and fixed that. I couldn't see how that leak would lead to all that water. Then one day I was down there and heard water running. Found it coming through the wall just above the footing under a shut-off vave for the outside hydrants on the N side of house. Shut it off, water stopped.

Sorta ease fix, about 30 minutes digging right outside the house and found a failed pvc to iron adapter right outside t he wall. Paid a plumber to fix that. Basement dry again.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

For me it was recurring pinhole leaks in old copper. About two years ago I replaced every bit of it with PEX. Problem solved.

 

[Creamer]

I called the local directional boring guy who does a lot of water work in the area - he couldn't make it today but will come Monday. Since there is nothing leaking into the house I am not too concerned - it is just going to be a higher water bill. I called the guy from the water department (who is a friend) and he said I had used almost a 1000 gallons since my wife had called yesterday.

Figuring I knew where it was I moved the "landing" between the steps and the front porch which was made out of wood and about 5'x5'. It was very heavy but due to the shrubs and front garden I could not get in there with a tractor. I got that tipped up on the front porch. Then I found a 4" slab of concrete under that "landing" which I broke a corner out of to allow me to get to the fitting. Then I dig a couple of feet into the dirt and it is getting dryer not wetter. At this point I am about two feet above the the suspected leak and no water. I checked my sump pump to see if it had run as it is located in the center of the mechanical room in my basement very near where the water comes in - it hasn't run in some time. I am baffled as to where the water is leaking at because it sure can't be here.

I called the directional boring guy again and he says if its dry it isn't going to cause much problem by Monday and he will be out. He said he should be able to vacuum a small hole and be able to tell by sound. He said the sound could travel along the waterline quite a distance and just be amplified by the block walls in my mechanical room. I decided to wait for him. We'll see.

 

[4570Man]

If it's ran a 1000 gallon in a day it should be pretty easy to find. Drive you tractor up the path of the water line. You know where that is, right? Once you find the wet spot find the wettest spot and the leak isn't far away. I've discovered several water leaks and most were detected by hitting a soft spot while mowing. How deep is your line? That could ruin my plan. Lines are only about 16-24" here.

 

[dodge man]

In NE Indiana line is probably 4 to 5 feet deep.

 

[bigtiller]

Glad to hear you,re not to concerned about it. If it was my waterline, it would constitute an emergency. With water at $25 per 1000 gallons in our household, we don't have any dripping faucets.

 

[vlcakc]

During a dry summer a few years ago the water main into our farmhouse pulled apart at the transition between the 1.5" PVC and the 1" copper just outside the house foundation due to the ground shifting. The water stream followed the copper line to the sleeve through the foundation (unfortunately the sleeve hadn't been sealed during initial construction) and into the crawl space under the house. The water district meter reader noticed the excessive consumption and shut off the water at the meter. Most of the leakage ended up under the house (about 9000 gallons according to the meter readings) with very little migrating to the surface. Needless to say a great big mess. The line repair was fairly easy as the line is in a clear area in the yard. Drying the crawl space was a different matter requiring several weeks of blowing dry air through the space. Hope your repair isn't as complicated. Vic

 

[Creamer]

I checked the hole today and it was not getting any softer. I can still hear the leak in the basement though. As deep as I dug it is only about 28" down to the waterline as I can measure the height in the basement. How can it be leaking there and not coming up in the hole?

I have walked the waterline and not felt any softspots in the yard. It was all replaced except about the last 50' into the house a few years back because we had a poly connector crack one year which made the front yard a soupy mess and then the next year I had another one crack and I said that was enough and had the rest of the quarter mile line to the city meter replaced. I just didn't want to go through the all the stuff around the house until I had to which I guess is now. In those other leaks I do not remember being able to hear it in the house.

We will see tomorrow morning.

 

[Creamer]

Sorry! Yesterday got real late at work so I didn't get to tell you what happened.

My guy came out and listened in my basement and told my wife that the leak was definitely not far outside the wall. He then used a vacuum excavator to dig down to it. I had never heard of this type of equipment before so I looked it up on the web. The bottom line is that it uses high pressure water to loosen the dirt and then a high powered vacuum to suck up the water and dirt. This was kind of important since he was digging right next to my gas line.

He found the leak - a very small crack in the black poly hose that had been kinked when it was put in and then straightened out but the movement over the years must have caused it to crack. Of course he repaired it and then put some of the slurry back in the hole.

He said that it takes a long time for water to make a soft spot and that he wouldn't be surprised if the water had not followed along the basement wall in both directions. My wife got the water bill today and this had obviously been leaking for a while as it was about 25,000 gallons over our normal usage in the last month. The repair guy said it usually takes at least a month to show up on the surface but he has seen it be much longer.

I learned a lot in this one - like how many gallons of water could run underground without me knowing about it and how to dig a hole safe, fast, and with no mess.

 

[LD1]

How long that water runs underground has to do with surrounding drainage. I am betting your house has a tile around the perimeter of the basement. Wouldn't surprise me if you never saw water on the surface.

I fixed a black poly leak for a neighbor in the middle of the yard about 100' from the house. She found the soggy spot while mowing, and the very next water bill showed high usage. No tile in the area to carry the water away, so it showed on the surface pretty quick.

 

[NorTracNY]

Where is your water meter? If the water isn't coming into the house, but you're being charged, it must be at the road? My meter is at the house, so if there was a leak outside the house, I wouldn't be paying for the water. Is this not common?

 

[LD1]

Where is your water meter? If the water isn't coming into the house, but you're being charged, it must be at the road? My meter is at the house, so if there was a leak outside the house, I wouldn't be paying for the water. Is this not common?

Its not common for a meter to be on the house where I live. There is a plastic cover out by the road with the meter located under it. Takes a special tamper resistant 5-point socket to open. Everyone in rural areas out here, that are tapped into the water, the meter is out by the road. Been that way every since rural water starting spreading out here 25+ years ago.

 

[NorTracNY]

Its not common for a meter to be on the house where I live. There is a plastic cover out by the road with the meter located under it. Takes a special tamper resistant 5-point socket to open. Everyone in rural areas out here, that are tapped into the water, the meter is out by the road. Been that way every since rural water starting spreading out here 25+ years ago.

It certainly makes sense. I'm in a rural county, but the meters are in the house and I believe a signal is transmited outside. Just a few months ago my meter was replaced as the battery in it went after ~12years.

Does that mean you can't check your meter? I had a leak in a barn hydrant years ago. I suspected there may have been a problem, and used the meter in the house to determine it for sure.

 

[LD1]

It certainly makes sense. I'm in a rural county, but the meters are in the house and I believe a signal is transmited outside. Just a few months ago my meter was replaced as the battery in it went after ~12years.

Does that mean you can't check your meter? I had a leak in a barn hydrant years ago. I suspected there may have been a problem, and used the meter in the house to determine it for sure.

They dont "want" you to mess with it. But a 5-point socket/wrench can be purchased, but a pair of pliers also works. They have no issue if you get in there. Thats where the shut-off is. But problems are pretty rare.

 

[ovrszd]

How long that water runs underground has to do with surrounding drainage. I am betting your house has a tile around the perimeter of the basement. Wouldn't surprise me if you never saw water on the surface.

I fixed a black poly leak for a neighbor in the middle of the yard about 100' from the house. She found the soggy spot while mowing, and the very next water bill showed high usage. No tile in the area to carry the water away, so it showed on the surface pretty quick.

I'm guessing you are right about the drainage tile. 25K gallons of water leaking against a concrete wall is going to show up somewhere. Maybe find the drainage end of the basement/footing drain and you might find your 25K gallons of water.

 

[JRobyn]

My water meter is out at the main road where my 1/2 mile long "yard service line" taps off the county utility district main!

 

[hawkeye08]

years ago, had a leak near the meter, maybe 100' from house, could hear water running (just me, not wife). Meter was spinning crazy fast, called water company, they were sending a guy out right away to shut water off after giving us advice on where the leak might be... no one came, several days go by and I called again (had called each day) and since I worked with the IT guys, word got to them and the IT director came out in suit, took jacket off, rolled up white shirt sleeves and said, let's get this figured out. He listened and looked at meter, said it could be anywhere but his best guess was close to meter (about 6' deep). He shut water off and we started digging. Dug about 3' diameter hole and when we got to the pipe, found the leak about 18" from meter in gravel. Dirt/gravel was dry 12" above pipe, then it got wetter. They waived the water bill because they did not come when they said they would, even though the leak was mine to find and fix. It turned out to be a 6" split in 1 1/2" poly. He examined pipe closely and said from the markings, it was likely creased slightly by backhoe when being installed and the water wore the crease until it was open.

There was no shutoff between the meter and house, so I had no means to shut it off... we added a large brass shutoff for future problems, but never had another problem while we lived there...