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Water main leak?

Posted on 6/2/25 at 10:09 am
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 10:09 am
My yard is saturated in several areas in the front, side and even near the back...i had a sprinkler leak that i noticed and turned off the water and we've had a bunch of rain -- i just figured it was left over water from those two things...this a.m. I noticed it was even wetter....thinking the main line comes into the house near a flower bed where i have a spicket....anyone have any experience trying to locate a leak?
Posted by Gauxt
Prairieville
Member since Oct 2013
377 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 10:58 am to
Use a probing rod to locate line in the wet spot.
Dig up and expose line.
Turn water back on and see what direction the water is flowing.
Keep digging till you find the leak.
Posted by Spankum
Miss-sippi
Member since Jan 2007
60437 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 11:34 am to
Shut all water off in your house and check your water meter to see if the dial is moving. If it is not moving, call the water company. If it is moving, call a plumber.

Don’t delay doing this for very long, as one hell of a lot of water can leak if you have a leak underground.
Posted by LegendInMyMind
Member since Apr 2019
71464 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 11:37 am to
quote:

Use a probing rod to locate line in the wet spot.
Dig up and expose line.
Turn water back on and see what direction the water is flowing.
Keep digging till you find the leak.

Yep, you can do this. Or, you can call a plumber who does leak detection and pay out the arse to have them locate the leak. Short runs on a supply line and noticeable leaks (as you seem to have) you can do yourself. We have two different long runs on the main supply line. We had a small leak that would have been a pain to try to locate. Paying the plumber to find it was worth every penny.
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 11:53 am to
Pretty sure it's right near the house, have a flower bed with bricks surrounding it that has drains in the bricks - water coming out of those holes
Posted by Tree_Fall
Member since Mar 2021
1082 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 11:54 am to
I had a wet spot in the yard and was sure the leak was in the supply line from the meter. It turned out to be under the slab far away from the wet spot it caused.

My bet is that you have a leak under the slab which shows up at multiple places near the slab edge.

First DIY step is to determine whether the leak is on the house or yard side of the house cutoff. Shut the cutoff and monitor the water meter near the curb. A small triangle (red on mine) will not move over 30min after shutoff if the leak is in/under the house. It will move if the leak is in the yard.

If the leak is on the house side call a leak-detection specialist or a full-service plumber that offers that service.

If in the yard, see if anybody in your area offers resistance or acoustic leak location technology. Digging will be cheaper.

My leak was under the kitchen floor in the line feeding the fridge icemaker. The plumber ran pex through the attic to replace the bad section of pipe. It required 2 very small holes at base of wallboard easily covered by access plates.
Posted by cgrand
HAMMOND
Member since Oct 2009
46423 posts
Posted on 6/2/25 at 6:59 pm to
while you’re checking supply make sure it’s not a waste line leak
Posted by LSUfan20005
Member since Sep 2012
9131 posts
Posted on 6/3/25 at 6:36 am to
quote:

have a flower bed with bricks surrounding it that has drains in the bricks - water coming out of those holes


That sounds like a rather significant leak
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/4/25 at 5:42 pm to
So I tried with no luck, finally got a sprinkler guy out today who also does some underground fixes. Found the line but he and I were perplexed by a couple things...two 1 inch lines running under the foundation into a 4 inch green pipe, we think the bigger pipe was to protect when foundation was poured...however, green pipe comes out from below foundation around a foot and we couldn't get to what he believes will be broken cuplets at the wall of the foundation
..going to come back tomorrow and dig more to try and cut back green pipe...lastly, when we turned water back on no water pressure on one side of house

A few things, is there a chance no couplings? Two, why 2 main lines? Lastly- what happened with the water pressure?

Posted by Spankum
Miss-sippi
Member since Jan 2007
60437 posts
Posted on 6/4/25 at 7:28 pm to
What you have is kind of perplexing. Are the two pipes going into the house PEX, steel, or copper?
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 6:31 am to
PVC
Posted by LSUfan20005
Member since Sep 2012
9131 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 7:39 am to
quote:

PVC


That’s weird - I’m imagining two pvc lines running into a schedule 40 green pipe.

Are you sure this isn’t water coming FROM the house? Like a greywater system or something?
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 7:45 am to
I've been cutting off the water in the house and on the street
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 8:00 am to
The PVC pipes are stacked going into the green pipe, plan this morning is for them to continue to dig out and then cut the green pipe as close or under foundation to hopefully find a broken linking cuppling


Posted by Tree_Fall
Member since Mar 2021
1082 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 8:55 am to
Thanks for updates.

If those two PVC lines are supply, where is the at-the-house shutoff valve? Most I've seen are above the slab and right at the wall.
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 9:46 am to
under the stove in the kitchen - only one cutoff valve though / no one knows why two supply lines
This post was edited on 6/5/25 at 9:48 am
Posted by LSUfan20005
Member since Sep 2012
9131 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 10:10 am to
Such a weird angle for them to enter the green pipe. How old is the house? Wondering if it’s shifted.

Looks like a lot of water, is that clean out a sewer line?
Posted by hubreb
Member since Nov 2008
2085 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 11:03 am to
Yeah - the clean out is the sewer line - foundation was poured in 2008
Posted by MrBobDobalina
BRo.LA
Member since Oct 2011
3371 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 11:23 am to
I would abandon the pvc under the house. Cut it and reroute it through the brick wall (with copper) and tie it in under the stove where your valve is.

PVC under concrete is a time bomb. Should always be one solid piece of pipe, no fittings under concrete. Lets say you find and fix the leak...you're gonna back fill the saturated ground. The ground is going to dry out over the summer and settle. The fix you just made is going to be in a bind again and is on a timer for the next time it breaks.


A irrigation guy is not someone I'd want doing it either. They profit on volume and quick fixes and use cheaper fittings/piping and glue. <- Not valid if it is someone you know for certain does quality work.
Posted by BigBinBR
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2023
9218 posts
Posted on 6/5/25 at 11:26 am to
quote:

under the stove in the kitchen - only one cutoff valve though / no one knows why two supply lines


Your water cut off is under the stove in the kitchen, you have no outdoor cutoff, and 2 supply lines?

That's all kinds of fricked up.
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