just moved in to 40 year old home, heard gushing water, main water line broken

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sft

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I just moved into my home in Rockland County, NY, and we heard the sound of rushing water in one of the lower level rooms. It is a bi-level, no basement, built on slab. We were told the main water line coming into the house is broken. I am resposible for it. It runs under my driveway. This was has been running for some time. Is it safe to re-route the water pipe through the side of the house so as not to dig up the driveway. I was told that there could be a gully under the slab where the water gushed and that we should not reroute the line but replace the original so there is no chance of the house settling where this gully would remain and cause structural damage.
 

hj

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The foundation around the perimeter of the basement is what is holding your house up. Unless you created a huge sink hole, there should be no problem with your house settling. HOW you reroute the piping will depend on how easy it is to reconnect it inside the basement.
 

Jadnashua

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The water line must come in below the frost level, and where you live, that could be 4' or more below ground. You'd have to check with the local building inspector on the depth. But, assuming you can do that, you could bring it into the house in any path you want. As to a sinkhole, for this to happen, the dirt has to wash out to somewhere. If you don't see any buildup anywhere of dirt and water, it's flowing through the soil. For that to happen, there would have to be a fair amount of sand and gravel verses clay or 'normal' dirt. So, it probably isn't washed out.
 

sft

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Thanks everyone for the advice. It was a relief to get positive feedback on this problem. As far as the pipe freezing, it will be underground pursuant to our code which is I believe 3 feet.
 
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