Water Leak and Meter Issue

[tdpadgett]

You are both correct. I have about 390-400 feet of pipe from the meter to my house cut off. We lived on well for about 11 years and the county ran water down our street last December and things have been fine until recently. The county did fix the small leak at the meter that connects into my line only because they hooked it up. We had a major leak about 2 weeks ago where two pieces of pipe underground simply just pulled loose. There was only about a 1/4 inch holding them together in the bell housing. We fixed it and of course started watching the meter again to see if it corrected it and in one since it did fix the major leak but again we know there has to be another one. Should I put cut off's every 100 ft or so up through the line?

 

[Redwood]

Sounds like your line might be a little sketchy.
Who put it in and when?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[tdpadgett]

O.K. Here is the latest and a question that I think I know the answer too but need some professional help. We just left for 4 days and I decided to turn off the water inside the house but at the street as well. Today when we got home I turned the meter back on and it took several minutes for the red triangle to slow down and bascially stop (still moving very slowly stopping at times as earlier described). Since the water was off at the meter and inside the house should it have had to fill the line up the front yard like it did? Makes me believe that there is a leak underground right? Thanks!

 

[Kingsotall]

Just get a plumber out there for crying out loud!

 

[Verdeboy]

You obviously have a leak between the meter and the main shutoff in your home. That last exercise proves it. Someone has to start digging. It is a lot cheaper for you to start digging than a plumber. If you have a wet spot somewhere, that would be the first place to start.

 

[tdpadgett]

No wet spots on the ground and I do have easy access to dig up the line. I have already dug it up too fix the major leak we had that started this mess. Any suggestions on a 400 foot line how many shut off's I should put in? Any suggestions on check valves being put in at the same time?

As for kingsotall...I am not crying just trying to get info. like anyone else on here. I can do the work myself but looking for suggestions, thoughts and ect.....

 

[Wraujr]

Forget the Shutoffs and Check Valves

I'm no pro, but common sense says forget the extra shutoffs and check valves as they are not needed. The only thing needed is to find the leak and fix it. Try and be smart about the leak. If line is copper tubing, it comes in 50' and 100' lengths, then start at say house and dig every 50' looking for the joint. If its lengths of pipe, use the length and start by finding joints. Odds are its a joint, but there's no guarantee that its not.

If you really want to use shutoffs to isolate leak then I would start as follows:
Start at 200' (the middle) and place a shutoff. Then determine if leak is in first 200' or second 200'. Then go to section with leak and place shutoff in middle (i.e. 100' point or 300' point). Determine which section has leak. Continue halfing until leak is found. In math its known as the bisection method and is the quickest way, unless you find the wet spot......

 

[tdpadgett]

Thanks!! I have 1 1/4" PVC pipe in 20' sections so it would be a lot of joints to dig up is why I was looking at sections.

 

[Verdeboy]

There are also companies that specialize in leak detection using audio and visual information without disturbing the ground. You may want to look up "leak detection" in your yellow pages to get an estimate.

 

[Gary Slusser]

With 400+' of 20' sections of PVC, the best way to go is to trench a new 1" or 1.25" 160 or 200 psi rated PE (polyethylene) line from the meter to the house.

A shut off at the meter and just inside the house. No check valves, maybe a pressure regulator valve and an expansion tank on the cold feed to the water heater.

It seems to me that you have a leak allowing air into the line or water wouldn't be running back into the street, or the water heater is building pressure to push the water back to the street. Maybe a vacuum breaker on an outside faucet?

I'd also add a water pressure gauge inside the house to make sure the water company is keeping a minimum positive pressure of 20-40 lbs and there is no vacuum being created in the city water line by neighbors. A vacuum will constantly break PVC until you stop the vacuum.

You double oppose clamp the PE and use the proper torque wrench to tighten the clamps; plus a half turn. And do not tighten when the tubing is warm or hot. Over tightening clamps is the primary cause of leaks.

 

[Kingsotall]

And I quote:

There are also companies that specialize in leak detection using audio and visual information without disturbing the ground. You may want to look up "leak detection" in your yellow pages to get an estimate.

As for kingsotall...I am not crying just trying to get info. like anyone else on here. I can do the work myself but looking for suggestions, thoughts and ect.....

 

[tdpadgett]

With 400+' of 20' sections of PVC, the best way to go is to trench a new 1" or 1.25" 160 or 200 psi rated PE (polyethylene) line from the meter to the house.

A shut off at the meter and just inside the house. No check valves, maybe a pressure regulator valve and an expansion tank on the cold feed to the water heater.

It seems to me that you have a leak allowing air into the line or water wouldn't be running back into the street, or the water heater is building pressure to push the water back to the street. Maybe a vacuum breaker on an outside faucet?

I'd also add a water pressure gauge inside the house to make sure the water company is keeping a minimum positive pressure of 20-40 lbs and there is no vacuum being created in the city water line by neighbors. A vacuum will constantly break PVC until you stop the vacuum.

You double oppose clamp the PE and use the proper torque wrench to tighten the clamps; plus a half turn. And do not tighten when the tubing is warm or hot. Over tightening clamps is the primary cause of leaks.

Thanks!!! I appreciate the help.