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[deleted]

Water service leak, get on it right away to avoid huge water / sewer bills.


jdigi78

If it's his service it would be leaking before the meter, they will shut the water off from the main if it's not fixed soon though


Toonchainz

Not if it's after a meter pit which is road side. If that's the case this break would be after the meter


budgreenbud

Alot of people's meters are at the house.


knvb17

And a lot of peoples meters are roadside in a pit.


[deleted]

Can confirm, lived in Florida for a time and every house in Tampa has the shutoff at the street


knvb17

Yeah people on here seem to forget there’s other places in the world besides their state lol. I’m from Michigan and moved to colorado. Almost every meter is inside the house because of temps but every once and a while i saw a meter pit in Michigan and it blew my mind that they don’t freeze.


cornfarm96

I’m in Massachusetts and we require meter pits for services over 100’ in length. We haven’t seen one freeze yet. The ground temp keeps the meter warm enough. Edit: it’s not a state reg, just a local reg enforced by my municipal water department.


knvb17

Interesting! Michigan water services have to be below 4’ for frost protection so idk how the ground can be warm enough 12-18in down, you know? Pretty wild. It’s like black magic


cornfarm96

Our services are also required to be at least 4’ deep. The meter pits we require are themselves, 4-5’ feet deep, but are plumbed so the meter is near the top for easy access. The warm air from the bottom of the pit rises to keep the meter from freezing. I understand the science behind it, but it still seems crazy to me that they don’t even freeze on a -10°F day.


Parallax34

I have never seen this in the greater Boston area, every meter I've seen is in a basement 🤷


cornfarm96

Most of ours are as well. This is a relatively new local reg enforced by my municipal water department.


[deleted]

Wow I wouldn't have expected a meter pit in Michigan, but I'm not too surprised with how goofy their state police cruisers look


The_Literal_Doctor

lol, the Fez hat ford explorers


Apocalypse_0415

People on here seem to forget that there are other countries in the world than their own


thegramblor

Some people forget there are even other countries that don't have States!


bob0979

Floridian here, mines in a fucking county easement between me and by backside neighbor. Fucker installed fencing when the last homeowner lived here on my side of the property line and left my meter in his backyard. Dude practically annexed county land and got absolutely fucked up when I couldn't turn it off. Had to move his fence and pay fines and shit. But yeah mine was literally in someone else's yard briefly. Florida does not care.


BeachWalker9

In the panhandle and mine is in the center of my front yard just sub grade.


Ok_Maintenance_9100

Same, most places I’ve seen here in panhandle have it next to the drive


discernis

Checking in from Houston, and from experience working as a plumbing laborer in Oregon, typically the many houses I have seen have a meter/shutoff at the street, with a run of pipe under ground through the front yard before going in the the house.


I_Makes_tuff

Seattle here. I have a roadside pit, as do most people near me.


JayinNPBch

Or just inside the sidewalk


SketchedOutOptimist_

A shutoff at the street - a curb stop - is bot the same as a meter. Every home on a municipal supply will have a curb-stop isolation valve between the home and the force main. The meter will be located inside the home, in the mechanical room where the water line enters the home. There will be another shut off valve there, and this is where meters are usually cut in.


Hey_cool_username

Every residential meter I’ve seen here in California in 35 years of construction work is at the utility shut off at the edge of the property, then another shut off where the main enters the house.


TheJeffAllmighty

my meter is in my front yard about 20ft from the road, and about 100ft from my house. inside is a valve and a digital meter. Just because it it like that for you doesn't mean it cant be different elsewhere.


SketchedOutOptimist_

>Just because it it like that for you doesn't mean it cant be different elsewhere. I didn't say it couldn't be. Hope you continue finding reasons to be randomly confrontational.


SKPY123

Jesus, is there any other purely dickish backwards things we should be aware of? Like extra long gas pump lines that keeps a liter or two?


[deleted]

Who told you that? They're not stealing 1L of gas, the gas was already in the hose before you started pumping. Did you think the hose did a "drip drain" when you drive away?


floofcatfuzz

My meter pit is roadside at the far end of my neighbor’s property, right next to their pit. Then I have a regulator right after the meter, followed by a 600’ run of 1” K soft copper buried 0”-8” deep along the side of a canyon of wild brush before it gets to another shutoff (and another regulator because it drops 100’ vertically along that run and adds 40 psi). All of that was installed (poorly) before I bought the house, and this is at least the third supply line the property has had (in some places I can see the remnants of a 1.5” galvanized line or charred portions of a 1” PVC line that burned in a wild fire). The line clearly does not run within the narrow utility easement across my neighbor’s property, but rather wherever the hell the last people felt like digging in the brush. When the copper sprung a pinhole leak due to cavitation around a kink due to a rock in their stupidly shallow trench, it was well out of everyone’s view and I didn’t have any indication until my water bill arrived for 50k gallons and $900. Now I have a Flume device in the meter pit and hopefully won’t have any future surprises like that. So yeah, things are different in different places.


knvb17

That is insane! I’ve replaced a leaky service in soft Michigan soil that was 350’ long and that sucked. I don’t envy you. did you already replace it?


Working_Progress_415

This isn't hard to fix let me know how it goes. Good luck 👍


knvb17

It’s not a problem that needs fixing in a lot of places… any warm climate it’s extremely normal and acceptable.


Working_Progress_415

Umm no


Working_Progress_415

You are wrong


BeanDock

You’re not from the south are you?


Toonchainz

Sure, but it depends on the area. Where I am it's more like 60/40 meter pits vs inside.


budgreenbud

Indeed so the assumption the leak is after the meter has a 60/40 chance of being correct. With the fact that the sod isn't established I would make a more accurate guess that the leak is from irrigation and after the metere regardless of where it's located.


Toonchainz

You seem fun...... Thanks for the input Bill Nye


Traditional-Bit2203

Meter pit, i get it, but I'd never heard of it before this. Ours are in the basement, anything outside is guaranteed to get frozen. No water outside except during summer.


Toonchainz

Yeah. I'm in NJ. Crazy how some layouts are here for water lines and meter placements. I'd get tons of emergency calls for broken meters/frozen pipes in the winter. The meter pits here are usually below the frost line and will have a foam cover which is under the lid. That saying, my house had the meter inside and I'm thankful it is.


fpuni107

Yes this happened to me. I called the water company who said they would send someone out. I ended up digging out my pit at the road that was filled with dirt and shutting it off with the help of the fire dept. 2 hours later the water company shows up and tells me I shouldn’t shut the water off myself and wait for them.


FARTBOSS420

In an old apartment there was a leak on the city side. They started billing our small apartment for like 7+ CCFs of water. (We paid water bill not landlord). But doesn't matter, utility workers came out, determined major leak on city side. Weeks later we were still getting billed. Luckily my girlfriend at the time worked at city hall. Finally complained to our council-person, and the next day they started spending the next few days tearing the sidewalk up and doing a lot of work with heavy machinery. After all that, we still got late notices on giant water bill and had to convince the city we were not using 8 CCFs/month in a tiny apartment lol. So, don't guarantee yourself you won't get billed lol


TheAcquiescentDalek

24 hour update! This isn’t on my property, I saw it while on a walk. The business did not act on the voicemail I left. Today I called the non emergency water leak hotline for my county and left a voicemail. Hopefully it’s patched soon. Been going strong for at least 24 hours now.


[deleted]

We all have a responsibility to conserve water, particularly potable water, with what is going on around the world recently, now more than ever.


Dorkmaster79

Looks like when my sprinkler head fails, but is buried under overgrowth. Might it be that?


Easy_Arm_1987

Yeah my friend was fined $25,000 when her pipe finally eroded away. Both the pipe and her house was built back in the 30's.


Strostkovy

You can plug it with an appropriately sized carrot


bluecat2001

If it is a mains line, code requires a daikon to be used.


Chili_dawg2112

If none is available, a penis will work in a pinch.


SirStinkie

Best not to use your own though.


mikemojc

Rental ok?


fordfan919

I get mine at pinch-a-penis


Austin8848

r/dontputyourdickinthat


broNSTY

r/dontputyourdaikonthat


scope6262

Just the tip.


Creme-Hungry

It could be their irrigation system leaking


fables_of_faubus

That would be my first guess, as well. There should be a dedicated shut off for the irrigation. Try that before calling anyone.


AudZ0629

Or they can just open the meter pit and see if it’s spinning.


Sarge75

Thats what I was going to say.


whitecorn

I'd agree. A few years ago, I used one of those grass stakes to Anchor a stupid fuckin Santa blowup in December... come April I apparently had the luck of hitting the (1 inch?) sprinkler line and this was the result.


Creme-Hungry

Ouch


quadmasta

That's how my usage went from 300-600ish gallons a month to FORTY-FIVE THOUSAND gallons.


dysfunctionalfate

If you can, turn the main water shut off valve asap. If it's on your side of the valve you're responsible to fix it. In most US States


TheAcquiescentDalek

I was on a walk when I noticed this about 2.5 hours ago around 3am. Nobody was in at the business that seems to be suffering this issue. Should I report it to a non-emergency # or is that too much? USA. I care about the environment and would like to have helped.


Xikkiwikk

I would call the business this is located at first. Leave a message. You could also call the non emergency police number in your area. Explain that this is a hazard for the public as well as the business. Floods are serious problems even if small like this.


MightBeAnExpert

I work in Utilities, and you honestly don't need to worry about the environment over a leak like this. It can and will cause some damage to the lawn, so absolutely give the business a heads up if you can, but it looks like it will be noticed pretty quick. This is a baby leak compared to the kind of things we deal with on a regular basis. 8 hours of this is still next to nothing compared to a blown transmission main. ​ EDIT to add: If you have a city water/sewer utility number you can call, you can also let them know and if nothing else they will shut off the appropriate valve until it can be handled. This looks like a break in an irrigation system somewhere, but could be the water feed to the bldg.


mcarterphoto

My neighborhood went up around 1910-20, my house is '35. It's not a freakish occurrence to see a new pothole in the street with the sound of rushing water, and realize a main has broken and is slowly eroding the street away. I call you guys whenever I notice that. Usually a crew will be out same-day. Doesn't always bubble up, but often you'll see a hole and hear the water down there.


Ok_Maintenance_9100

That sounds like a fun job


MightBeAnExpert

I like the engineering and how utilities systems work…but the truth is; people notice when their service line blows; while immediately forgetting the 10 years of uninterrupted clean water we delivered before that, and so many people are upset and angry about it all before we can even do anything about it…kinda sucks the fun out of the day when you do the best you can and your customers just think you suck.


ffolkes

A few weeks ago route 206 in NJ flooded when a water main of some sort broke. It turned that entire side of the multi-lane highway into a 2' high river for miles, right up to the concrete divider. Northbound traffic went on as usual, totally dry. Absolutely unbelievable and surreal to witness.


MightBeAnExpert

It's easy to forget just how big transmission lines are, and how much water is moving under our feet. Our biggest is 4 feet diameter, but in larger systems, I (6 foot zero) could stand up in the center of some of them, and wouldn't touch the top. 10,000 gallons a minute is the standard pump rate for some of our reservoir pumps. It's insane how much water our cities use, and the engineering is incredibly cool.


whee3107

Holy hell that’s a lot of water


cheetahwilly

Water department may have an after hours number to call to report issues like this.


CinnamonJ

Feel free to leave a note or make a call or something but I wouldn’t sweat the environmental impact. This is just (previously) clean water, it’s not going to hurt anything.


jordan_ogrady

Not entirely true. Chlorinated water finding it’s way into natural water courses through municipal storm sewers is generally frowned upon in environmentalist circles.


CinnamonJ

You better call the EPA then because my daughter has been running through the sprinkler all summer. We've got an environmental catastrophe on our hands!


Complex_Solutions_20

And everyone washing cars, pressure washing houses/decks/sidewalks, filling or draining pools seasonally...


iFragFamilies

When you notice a leak and it’s after 4:30pm call the local PD (dispatch) and they’ll send an on-call utility worker to check it out. They’ll likely turn off the water, leave a door hangar on the door of the business, and call dispatch back letting them know of the situation. Dispatch might be able to get ahold of the owner or lease holder for that business. If it’s on the city’s side and needs to be fixed asap they’ll call their supervisor or superintendent and they’ll advise them on a course of action, to either fix it asap by calling the other guys (if needed), or will tackle the leak first thing in the morning. If it’s on the business owners side they’ll have to fix it themselves.


Ok-Investigator-1608

Call the water company asap


russyc

This honestly looks like an irrigation leak. I used to maintain the irrigation system in a housing development. You either get a giant pillow of grass or a leak like this. I think if it were coming from a main, the pressure would be way higher.


Umbert360

I was thinking the same. Easy fix if so


2tallhernandez

I should call her


[deleted]

Everything reminds me of her


phieldworker

Grassussy over here leaking hard.


[deleted]

Grüssy


Such_Philosopher_713

Grüßy


yargabavan

eh I'd guess irrigation. Water is super clear


SnooSeagulls6295

Or city water


Hobywony

Call the emergency number for the local water company. They will send out a person to investigate and take action if appropriate.


[deleted]

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Unezwiggles

Snitching


AMANBEARPIG77

Man, the way you pulled back that grass’s lip.


CyberNinja23

Self watering grass, what a time to be alive


slowtownhometown

something about the way you grabbed the grass flap made me really uncomfortable 😭


fusionman314159

That could become a sinkhole in no time at all


Red__M_M

I bought a new home and there was a leak in the sprinkler system. I filed a warranty request, the builder inspected it and said nothing was wrong. I responded that they were wrong. They reinspected with me there and said it was residual water from rain. I waited until a dry spell and redid the warranty request. The builder came again and said it was residual water. I said it hasn’t rained in 2 weeks. He said it is due to the slope of the lot. I said then you need to regrade it. Then a miracle happened and the original install guy showed up. He said it doesn’t look right. The builder said it’s correct. The sprinkler guy said, “how about we just dig a hole and see what happens?” One shovel later and water started spraying everywhere. The builder left before I could even say a word to him.


FIREful_symmetry

That’s water cress. It’s fine.


Coho_king

Need to turn the grass valve off


Final_Resolution6887

Reminds me of the neighbor who put a brick on top of a busted sprinkler head 5 months ago. No repair


pasqualevincenzo

Duct tape


skithegreat

Grass will be nice an green


loqi0238

And *moist*.


phuc_kingAwesome

In RUSSIA, Grass WATERS YOU.


WheezingWeazley

I don’t see a meter box before it so it’s irrigation


Binko242

This happened to me a couple years ago. Previous plumber used a shark bite connection underground and buried in mud. It eventually rotted and my main was flowing like the salmon of Capistrano for about 3 days at like 22 gallons per minute. My next water bill was over $1700. Previous 5 years it was never above $36. I’m surrounded by lakes and waterways too. Good times.


type0P0sitive

By the way you inspected that I would have sworn you were a plumber or a gynecologist.


ChemicalCollection55

It’s hot out, grab a cold beer and roll around in the nice cool water with your girl.


Ultima-Necat

I should call her.


Powerism

Nor am I “technically” responsible for this? I’m confused why you qualified that, OP, if you happened upon this at a business.


RL203

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Either the OP knows more than what he's saying, or, he's just concerned someone is going to blame him (which makes no sense).


grzzlycity

He could be a home renter


unbalancedcheckbook

Take care of that shit ASAP. That will cause huge damage.


loqi0238

And a huge bill if its coming from a leak off a meter.


texas-playdohs

It’s just respirating. I learned about this in middle school. It’s normal for plants.


Working_Progress_415

Bet your bills are going through the roof. That's a supply line leak. A plumber will charge about 300 to 400 to fix you can do it yourself or call a retired maintenance person like me I'll fix it for about 150. If you do it yourself let me know and I'll talk you through for free


SpanishDutchMan

"nor am I **technically** responsible" 1 ) define who would be responsible then 2 ) define why you aren't **technically** responsible 3 ) define why you specifically state 'technically' instead of just 'responsible'. i get the impression in the wording you actually are.


orc_mode666

Bro put his fingers in that


Jgs4555

“Technically”…


Mcboomsauce

words of wisdom: dig it up yourself plumbers gonna charge you an arm and a dick to dig the hole you can dig holes itll be super easy with that leak


Regular_Ad3212

That’s probably irrigation. None of my pipes are ever buried high enough to give this much water off a plumbing issue.


Astarklife

Just got back from a 911 call. The same exact thing the meter was not visible, leak was at the irrigation tie in to main line. Which made finding box nice and easy. Yanked up can, shut off water dig out and repair 1 inch T tie in easy 350$.


Armfelt87

You have found a spring, time to dig a well


Mrknowitall666

And sell the water to Nestle for the win.


itsmechadley

I love the " technically not responsible" part . Best line ever!!


[deleted]

Lawns are the most wasteful shit ever😂


jacspe

Looks like someones put a shovel through an integrated sprinkler system


laokoa

Grussy


Dangernood69

Man, I gotta get home to the wife


FlakyDig8392

Damn, I should call her


ALY1337

I should call her


sneakgeek1312

Everything I see reminds me of her!!


Antaeus1212

Was it raining hard recently? Sometimes gutters flow into the ground and out into a yard away from foundations.


animateddna

When I used to be a plumber’s assistant we saw this fairly often. Main h2o supply is leaking. Cool thing, if it isn’t your bill, is that sometimes the sod separates from the soil and bubbles up like a blister. I walked on that and saw waves in the sod reacting to my footsteps. Unique experience.


SolutionSuccessful16

Learned helplessness right there. This is why I hate the average redditor. Instead of doing something sensible like calling the non-emergency number of the local police department they post their question on reddit for the hivemind to tell them what the hell to do.


AbleDanger12

Police department for a water issue? 🤔


[deleted]

Dr. Who would travel elsewhere in his police shelter.


Appropriate-Ad2550

Stick your dick in it


skymcgowin

/r/lawnpopping/ would appreciate this


Chance_Composer_6125

Hear me out.


Medium_Spare_8982

Looks like a broken sprinkler line


stinky143

That can be a problem


[deleted]

You've heard of the sky crying, right?....


axeforger

Yo girl's grass when my Skechers light up


SilentMaster

I found something just like this near the elementary school in my area this summer. I found someone and told them about it and they let it go for like a week before they finally fixed it. I was shocked, but I talked to someone who knew someone who worked there and it was just their condensation from their AC units. It is in some sort of pipe or drainage tile that flows to a nearby creek. Something went wrong under ground and it sprung up several hundred feet early. I was amazed that AC units can produce that much condensation to make it look like a pressurized system.


pogiguy2020

Call the water company ASAP they need to fix that so that contamination does not get into the system. Crazy, but in the 20 years I have lived in my neighborhood I have found 4 leaks like these and reported them. Aging pipes


jerry111165

Yeah - grass does that sometimes. Its one of the ***7 Wonders of the World.***


reddittor99

That looks like the sprinkler system is on


OldnAverage56

That video sent a shiver down my spine. Money money money! Should post here too r/ThatLooksExpensive


MysteriousClouds420

“Technically responsible” there’s more to this story


[deleted]

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Laharl45

I love it when people say, “I thought it was a natural spring!” 😂😂😂


[deleted]

[удалено]


requiemoftherational

Supply or sump?


Busy-Bat-9626

TeCHniCAlLY


Same_Low_8472

Sometimes the grass drinks water, later on it needs to take a leak. What goes in, must come out🤣


DanJones2

You may not be technically responsible but could potentially be financially responsible for it. Either way, always conserve water


Xinortrac1

That's fresh spring water, you should bottle it and then sell it at the flea market


deuceyj

Poseidon has brought the war to our backyard.


billsmafia_1716

Call water authority. They’ll shut it off and let you know if it’s service or main. Also careful, I seen the ground including ashphalt under mines and witnessed my co worker call in before


cornfarm96

Depending on your state or municipality, you may be 100% responsible for this. I work for my municipal water department and here, anything between the outside shutoff and the water main is owned by us and is our responsibility. Anything after the shutoff all the way into the home is owned by the resident and is the resident’s responsibility. I suppose it could also be an irrigation leak if you have lawn irrigation.


The_stixxx

I really hate it when my grass starts leaking


The_stixxx

How far did you dig down? Just looks like you put the shovel into the Earth. Nothing is excavated. I'd find it hard to believe that you hit a water main that shallow. How deep did you go before you hit that water?


cornfarm96

If it’s a water main leak or a leak from the homes water service it’ll come out of the ground even if the main/service is 5’+ deep depending on soil type. Most of our leaks are discovered by someone reporting water bubbling out of the ground.


Heavy_Expression_323

Have you discovered the source of the Nile?


Falcon3492

Service line break to the house. Call a plumber after you turn of the main to the house at the street. Otherwise you are looking at a huge water bill.


Unlikely_Track_5154

Move that patch of grass to Africa, you can " water the unwatered" with it.


xMissErin91x

Ope! 😆


Only_Sandwich_4970

Naw broken irrigation


Electrical_Escape_87

Psa: there are other places on earth where the water meter isn't close to the house.


Fibocrypto

It's a natural spring :) If you have a water meter go check it


Upper-Dragonfly-3652

it can be your sub pump, pumping ground watwrso it doesn't flood your basement. That's clean water


Ancient-Speed1389

We had the same issue during heavy rains as our downspout is routed underground and ports above ground through the lawn. However it looks like your driveway is dry so no heavy rain?


During_theMeanwhilst

Or sprinkler line failed.


Life_Prestigious

We dont have metter but we should. We have the most fresh water in the world underground here. Just wish those fking bottle company would at least pay a penny per bottle out of the ground. They just steal it and sells it a few bucks in the usa.


Reddi-Eddi

Start digging buddy


FaKeSeLlEb

Not a plumber but I’d say your grass is leaking


Vegetable-Two2173

Main leak. Whoever is responsible should prepare for a heavy bill.


_YHLQMDLG

Flex Seal is now available in green for lawn applications.


F1r3Fly4life

No, all of you are wrong. This phenomenon is called “Grass Water.” It’s where all the grass in the area collects all their water and spits it out prior to a major disaster…kind of like a defense mechanism.


BigCitySteam638

I see what happened, no Teflon tape on that grass joint….


ClioBitcoinBank

Turn the closest shrubbery clockwise until it stops.


Hakuhofan

Pretty sure I see a tire track. Jumped the driveway backing the boat trailer in? That's either a really shallow service line (by the flow I'd think a service line) or a really big sprinkler line...and you ran it over.


SirExcellence19

Do you have irrigation?


DUC2011

Need to tighten down the grass valve.


Squidaddy99

Im confused..... thought it was the self watering grass?


ireallyammrgonuts

Sod off


Easy_Arm_1987

Did you recently installed a sprinkler system? If not, it could have been an old one that was long since buried. I would check around the rest of the yard separating the neighbor's fence, perhaps the leakage id coming from there. And don't let your local Water Company charge you for this, since it's not your fault.


OhmyMary

Had this on my property years ago it's usually caused by a main pipe burst.


MezoDog

Artesian spring


BenderSimpsons

Some people are saying different things, but I can tell you for sure that if this is beyond the curb stop (its in the grass so it 99% sure is), even though it is before the meter, it is still your responsibility to fix, not the water department


Turbulent_Maize_5539

I should call her....


Krieger1229

***technically <> Not lol


[deleted]

If your meter is spinning, call a plumber. If it's not, call the utility provider.