Leaking hydrant

[Pilot]

Hydrant started leaking underground, got worse when I turned on the valve, slowed when I shut it off, so I presume it's the hydrant and not the pipe leading to it. So I also assume it's something to do with the piston / valve near the bottom of the hydrant.

Supposed to rain heavily tomorrow. It's 8:30 in the evening now, dark out there and there is no source within 20 miles for a replacement that's open.

I plan to dig it out tomorrow, unscrew the hydrant and screw a plug into the pipe and replace the hydrant when the rain passes.

My only concern is could it fail catastrophically, leaking full blast?

 

[byronlj]

I have purchased rebuild kits for my frost proof hydrants at Lowes and Ace hardware. They install from the top, no digging required.
Dave