Water line under lawn is leaking (before meter) who is responsible?

[twinrider1]

So there was a nob to shut the water off in the meter box it was just covered up, I have determine the meter shows no leak, the low flow triangle shows no flow, the usage needle shows no change over an hour. Very mysterious. We will see what the plumber says.

That would point to the leak being upstream of the meter. But that still doesn't tell you who is responsible.

Call your water utility first.

Some places have two valves in the ground; a corporate valve and the curb valve (take a look at the Denver link earlier in this thread). Looks like they only take ownership up to and including the corporate valve. Anything after that, including the curb valve, is the homeowner's responsibility.
As you've seen in this thread, it's different in different towns.

And so I politely urge you....call your water utility first.

 

[mcurphy]

From what I understand here in Wi, everything between the shut-off valve (by the street) to your house is your responsibility..

Yep, this is how it goes in my town as well.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

There is a green lid that says sewer on it in the corner of my lawn, is the cap under this, because I can't open it.

There can be 2 sewer clean outs. One installed by the builder, which can be a cap on an exterior wall, or a cap just sticking up out of the ground *near* the house. Usually the ones in the ground are in a plastic valve box, often with a green lid. If your lid has 2 holes in the top you may have to put your fingers in them and turn the lid counter clockwise about 2 inches before you can pull it off. Example of lid;
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...R=202206747&catEntryId=202206747#.USAzr2dZiUk
Another clean out can be installed by the builder, or home owner closer to the street, a nice idea for larger yards, or with trees near the street, (plumbers charge by the foot). The city may also have installed a clean out closer to the street, these lids are usually metal. Do you know what a sewer cap looks like?
I thought we had agreed that the sewer was NOT your problem?
Does not the water oozing aline with the water supply line?
If you have a sprinkler system, and are currently using it, I will have some other questions to ask.
P.S. As I and others have said, CALL THE CITY FIRST!

 

[DCal430]

There can be 2 sewer clean outs. One installed by the builder, which can be a cap on an exterior wall, or a cap just sticking up out of the ground *near* the house. Usually the ones in the ground are in a plastic valve box, often with a green lid. If your lid has 2 holes in the top you may have to put your fingers in them and turn the lid counter clockwise about 2 inches before you can pull it off. Example of lid;
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...R=202206747&catEntryId=202206747#.USAzr2dZiUk
Another clean out can be installed by the builder, or home owner closer to the street, a nice idea for larger yards, or with trees near the street, (plumbers charge by the foot). The city may also have installed a clean out closer to the street, these lids are usually metal. Do you know what a sewer cap looks like?
I thought we had agreed that the sewer was NOT your problem?
Does not the water oozing aline with the water supply line?
If you have a sprinkler system, and are currently using it, I will have some other questions to ask.

The one you posted looks just like the one on my lawn, and it says sewer on it, it is next to the curb.

 

[DCal430]

There can be 2 sewer clean outs. One installed by the builder, which can be a cap on an exterior wall, or a cap just sticking up out of the ground *near* the house. Usually the ones in the ground are in a plastic valve box, often with a green lid. If your lid has 2 holes in the top you may have to put your fingers in them and turn the lid counter clockwise about 2 inches before you can pull it off. Example of lid;
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...R=202206747&catEntryId=202206747#.USAzr2dZiUk
Another clean out can be installed by the builder, or home owner closer to the street, a nice idea for larger yards, or with trees near the street, (plumbers charge by the foot). The city may also have installed a clean out closer to the street, these lids are usually metal. Do you know what a sewer cap looks like?
I thought we had agreed that the sewer was NOT your problem?
Does not the water oozing aline with the water supply line?
If you have a sprinkler system, and are currently using it, I will have some other questions to ask.
P.S. As I and others have said, CALL THE CITY FIRST!

No it parallel with the water meter, in fact if the sewer line is straight, then the leak is in between them. The leak seems greatest the closer I am to the side walk.

I plan to call the county first. Hope they will come.

 

[DCal430]

Though the lawn is slopped towards the center so, it is possible the water is just flowing towards the center of the lawn.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

You said you saw no indication of a leak from looking at the water meter, correct???
You do realize that water seeping up from a sewer line is highly unlikely, correct???
This would lead any plumber to believe the leak is between the meter, and
the street, 3 feet is what you stated. Yet you say that is not where the water is seeping, or pooling. Exactly where is it??? Is that area mushy, and bog like???
With heavy clay/adobe soils water can remain for days. How long is this
water remaining??? or does it seem like a constant???
You have hinted, but never confirmed my earlier questions, If you have a sprinkler system???, and are currently using it???
IF so, how often??? Water left in the lines of a sprinkler *zone* can slowly seep from the lowest head, sometimes as much as 5 gallons. Where is this head in regards to the pool of water??? Does it ever dry up??? Does it also pool after a rain??? Are you aware of where your sprinkler lines are, *especially* the supply line to the valves??? Where is this supply line turn off??? Some contractors, or DIY home owners don't install them, (yeah, stupid). When did you first start noticing this water pooling??? How long have you lived there??? Soil, or lawn areas are generally slopped away from a structure and to a central point, a catch basin with a drain pipe, or trough that continues down hill to drain the water away. Sometimes with a poor grade, and/or settling an amount of water can be trapped, kinda like a sagging roof gutter.
At this point I am leaning more towards a drainage problem and not a leak.
P.S. Water meters can be relocated, (root encroachment), or replaced, but are never installed after the home is built. It is one of the first things installed on a site.

 

[DCal430]

You said you saw no indication of a leak from looking at the water meter, correct???
You do realize that water seeping up from a sewer line is highly unlikely, correct???
This would lead any plumber to believe the leak is between the meter, and
the street, 3 feet is what you stated. Yet you say that is not where the water is seeping, or pooling. Exactly where is it??? Is that area mushy, and bog like???
With heavy clay/adobe soils water can remain for days. How long is this
water remaining??? or does it seem like a constant???
You have hinted, but never confirmed my earlier questions, If you have a sprinkler system???, and are currently using it???
IF so, how often??? Water left in the lines of a sprinkler *zone* can slowly seep from the lowest head, sometimes as much as 5 gallons. Where is this head in regards to the pool of water??? Does it ever dry up??? Does it also pool after a rain??? Are you aware of where your sprinkler lines are, *especially* the supply line to the valves??? Where is this supply line turn off??? Some contractors, or DIY home owners don't install them, (yeah, stupid). When did you first start noticing this water pooling??? How long have you lived there??? Soil, or lawn areas are generally slopped away from a structure and to a central point, a catch basin with a drain pipe, or trough that continues down hill to drain the water away. Sometimes with a poor grade, and/or settling an amount of water can be trapped, kinda like a sagging roof gutter.
At this point I am leaning more towards a drainage problem and not a leak.
P.S. Water meters can be relocated, (root encroachment), or replaced, but are never installed after the home is built. It is one of the first things installed on a site.

The ground is very wet and mushing from the side walk to about 5 feet up, the sidewalk also remains wet, there is a pool of water around 20 feet along the curb. It seems unchanged for days.

In California most meters are post install as they were not required until not to long ago.

I turn the sprinkler off for winter.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

"In California most meters are post install as they were not required until not to long ago."
WOW! free water. The house I was raised in, back in San Diego Ca. had a meter as far back as I can remember, (the forties).
I gave my dad an ashtray made from a solid brass San Diego Water Authority meter cover dated 1909.

 

[DCal430]

"In California most meters are post install as they were not required until not to long ago."
WOW! free water. The house I was raised in, back in San Diego Ca. had a meter as far back as I can remember, (the forties).
I gave my dad an ashtray made from a solid brass San Diego Water Authority meter cover dated 1909.

Yea where I use to live one of the neighbors did some machining type work in their garage and it used a ton of water, pre meter they paid like 30 a month, post meter it was like 200. Month. They were not happy.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

The ground is very wet and mushing from the side walk to about 5 feet up, the sidewalk also remains wet, there is a pool of water around 20 feet along the curb. It seems unchanged for days.

In California most meters are post install as they were not required until not to long ago.

I turn the sprinkler off for winter.

There is a house in my neighborhood with the same problem. These are half acre lots with a lot of lawn area. The houses on either side are slightly higher, as well as the ones behind it. If it's not raining we're running sprinklers. The poor guys property hardly ever dries out. To make matters worse the street gutter inlet wasn't put in the low spot, so there's a pool of water in the street as well.