Found water main!

fishman · Mar 10, 2003

Well, I needed to put up a better fence around my garden to keep the resident army of deer at bay. One problem, the water line was an "unkown". Where was it? The utility company didn't know because it was put in when the utility was owned by another company (all of 4 years ago). The easement showed it coming in from the corner, but that didn't seem logical, as the water meter was at the bottom of my drive. At least the electrical and phone were on a pole.

First hole was at the corner of the garden. My brother-in-law from NC was helping me (you see where this is going). Wife's sister is there, daughter, son, dog. Everybody going to watch the fence posts go in. Start drilling with the digger I bought from Centex (thanks! works great). Digging fine, when all of the sudden "snap" the shear bolt goes and water starts welling up out of the ground like I struck oil! Run down to the water meter. . . whoops need a screwdriver to get in. Run back to the house, and run back. Pop the cover and the meter is buried! Run get a shovel. Notice sister-in-law filming me, the water running around my tractor, dog getting a drink. Mental note to keep cussing to a minimum. Go back and dig, dig, dig. Finally find shutoff and the flood stops.

Move tractor and assess the situation. Not that bad, just a broken pvc pipe. So I replace the shear bolt in the digger, we dig the rest of the holes, and then head to the hardware store. Along the way brother-in-law and I discuss the intelligence of the guy that buried the water line 12" below the surface. I also ponder his parentage at length.

But happy day. End result, pipe repaired and posts set by noon. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Would have posted this in the picture forum, but the wife was too busy laughing to get any /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Dozernut · Mar 10, 2003

That sounds like my kind of luck! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Don't you hate it when mr. Murphy rides shotgun! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

Bird · Mar 10, 2003

Sounds like a great day, John. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif When I was on the board of directors for our water company, we had a guy who made an appointment to come appeal his case to the board. He had been billed for the repairs to a water main (not his own line) because he drilled into the water main with his post hole auger and had not called to have the water line marked. It turned out that he didn't call because he wasn't building new fence; he had a fence post rot out and he was replacing it with a new post in the same hole, but since the old post was only in the ground 2', he decided to set the new one in exactly the same spot, but deeper. The water main was about 26" deep. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Under the circumstances, we let him off without paying for the repairs. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

cowboydoc · Mar 10, 2003

12" deep??? My gosh that wouldn't last past October around here before it was froze up!! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Bird · Mar 10, 2003

That's 'cause you're too far north, Richard. I found that none of my water lines were deeper than 12" on the little farm we had, and never had anything freeze. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I suspect 4" would have been safe. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Boondox · Mar 10, 2003

Hooray for the sister-in-law! That footage will bring laughs in your family for years to come! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Pete

jsnitz · Mar 10, 2003

No - you don't want those water lines only 4" deep. That is about what we had where I grew up in Arizona - spent half the year geting hot water from both spigots!! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Bird · Mar 10, 2003

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gifI can imagine.

wroughtn_harv · Mar 11, 2003

Under the circumstances, we let him off without paying for the repairs.

That almost sounds like my experience in Celina, TX. I put my gate posts at least six (6) feet deep when I can. The folks had a fire and when they moved back in the moving van crunched the overhead pipe and gate posts. I got the job of repairing my own work, never fun.

The posts and overhead were four inch pipe in an eight inch hole six plus feet deep. Not a problem. I have found over the years that the easiest way to pull old posts is to dig a hole next to it. Then you just pull it over into the new hole and lift it out.

At three feet I severed a four inch PVC main. It was in the late afternoon, stuff never happens in the morning when folks are at work, and of course the water company's closest cut off was a mile a way. We'd taken out the whole subdivision plus and it was like a Friday evening. When we got it all exposed it was evident that in the original hole I'd missed the line by fractions of a fraction of an inch.

They didn't charge me because their marker flags from the original locate on the fence was still in place and was off just a little bit. I also suspect that me being in the pit as the hardest working and muddiest soul around helped.

BTW in Texas gawd alone knows where the right of way for the water lines are. Just because you're digging fence posts in your garden behind the house and over the hill from the road doesn't mean there couldn't be a water main around. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Bird · Mar 11, 2003

( Texas gawd alone knows where the right of way for the water lines are )

That's a fact! Most folks just wouldn't believe some of the things they've done. The area I lived in didn't have a water system until 1970 and when they initially built the system, they just ran water "mains", in some cases actually 1" PVC although 2" in most places, across pastures, through yards, etc. The 2" one that ran across my yard and between the house and shop building was 2' deep, but I found some places where pastures had eroded and the "mains" were actually exposed on the surface. And in many cases, they didn't keep their maps very well up to date either. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

fishman · Mar 11, 2003

I've been getting all this voyeuristic enjoyment out of other people's problems, I figured it was time to post one of my own. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Bird · Mar 11, 2003

Yep, we all have'em from time to time, John. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif They're just more fun when they happen to someone else.

Alan L. · Mar 12, 2003

If you'd been looking for it you would have dug up the whole yard. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

mwechtal · Mar 12, 2003

Fishman,
And of course when Murphy's law is in full effect the people who will most enjoy your mistake are always there. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes. Your's wasn't even very expensive.

Remember, if you're not making mistakes you're not doing anything!

Mike

chrisjbell · Mar 12, 2003

Start drilling with the digger I bought from Centex (thanks! works great). Digging fine, when all of the sudden "snap" the shear bolt goes and water starts welling up out of the ground like I struck oil! 

I couldn't help but relate to this one. This is nearly exactly how I found the electric lines that power my well. I was using a trencher to put in some sprinklers and cruising along just great when I looked behind me and noticed that there was a bunch of red, black, and green wire strung long the trencher blade (which for those who haven't had the pleasure looks exactly like a giant chain saw).

I thought that odd, as I knew that the trench that has the water and gas lines (and power, of course), is clear on the other side of the pasture. So I "unstrung" the wire (which was lots of fun) and continued on my way.

Later That Same Day...my wife comes out and tells me that there isn't any water. I'm confused (this isn't unusual /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif) and start checking out the pressure tank, etc. No water anywhere, the well has been activated - the breaker hadn't even tripped /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif.

So I finally got to the checked the breakers in the junction box on the wellhead...and noticed that there was this piece of green wire that was mostly stripped and was broken off short. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the red and black wires were stretched tight - the insulation was all that was holding them together.

A light started to come on as I looked at the pile of wire I'd cleared out of the trencher that was lying on the other side of the pasture...

Turns out that my electric lines were in a PVC pipe (the grey kind, as it should be) but only about 12" down. I suppose that is OK, but they also happened to run in a more direct line from my house's breaker panel to the well than the other trench. You should see what a trencher will do to PVC...

The wires had been pulled clean out of my main breaker panel (thank goodness!) or something really nasty could have happened. I suppose the breakers would have tripped before anything happened to me - my guess is that the trencher blade was providing a really good earth ground at the time /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif.

So I got to run down to town and get new wire. Fortunately I only had to replace a couple of feet of the PVC pipe, and my neighbor is a contractor and he helped me hook the wires back up to the main panel. And suddenly, we had water again...

But boy, did this bring up some memories... Thanks for letting me share /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif...Chris

fishman · Mar 13, 2003

Whew!

That story makes me feel a little better. I am not alone /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

wroughtn_harv · Mar 18, 2003

Yesterday afternoon, about three thirty, last hole for the day, knew the water main was close. I probed around and found what could have been the main but it was out of line and only about thirty inches deep where everywhere else it'd been thirty six or better.

I took a chance, had the tractor at idle with little down pressure. Three inch schedule forty PVC shattered like China.

I jumped off the skid steer and called the water company. Put away the skid steer and grabbed the backhoe. I dug a big pit beside the line. When I saw the water stop boiling I knew they'd cut it off and I started bailing with the bucket. By the time they got there the line was partially exposed and almost all the water was out of the hole.

A half an hour later they were back in business. I then turned to the main man and asked him how much my error was going to cost my insurance company.

He complemented me on being so helpfull and explained that if I hadn't been that ways there would be a considerable charge. But since it was obviously an honest mistake there would be no charge.

This isn't the first time my good nature has came to the rescue of my lack of patience butt.

Taylortractornut · Mar 18, 2003

Harv Dad told me one time I have the natural ability to find anything someone else buried. I quit a terrible job and was having a time finding one so a friend of mine that was a plumber let me work for him under his insurance since he only had a shovel. We put in a new tank for his customer that used to be over the utilities in that town. He had marked where he remebered he lines that ran to his green house... propane, water, electric , and telephone. His propane tank was in line of where he wanted his water garden at, and i told him the line would probably be straight. We haggled a minute then I decide I had lost the argument. He outlined the edges of the pond and on the first scoop I had a copper line, a pvc pipe, 2 types of wire, and a blue spark on the bucket that almost made me wet myself. He told me later that he thought since i was only 19. The lines werent that hard to fix but it was a very good experience to learn about what could be in the ground.