Water following water main into crawlspace
gretagirl
| Posted in General Discussion on
I have a house that was built in 1988 outside Portland, Oregon. I discovered that water is coming into the crawlspace where the watermain enters. This water seems to be following the watermain line in.
Some additional info:
- I had the city water department check to make sure there are no leaks at my house as well as any of the neighbors’ houses.
- The city is responsible for this water but it could take more that a year to get them to fix their problem
- I have drainage in the crawl space and outside the house but that does not stop the water from following the waterline into the crawlspace.
What can I do to block this water from following the water main in?
Replies
Dig up the water line in your yard and cut it in two?
Based on what you describe there is almost certainly a leak in the water line -- could be near the house, could be out in the street, could even be a block away.
First check with your neighbors to see if any of them have similar problems. Report any findings to the water company.
Investigate whether there's a "curb stop" cutoff out in the yard -- sometimes this is obvious due to the cast iron cover sticking out of the ground, other times it's buried. If the water is cut off at the curb stop and this causes your seepage issue to abate after 24 hours then the leak is between curb stop and house, and it's probably on your dime to fix it. If the seepage continues after the curb stop is cut off then the water company needs to fix it.
As to "blocking" the water, you probably can't, but you should be able to divert it somehow. Precisely how (and how difficullt to do) depends on how deeply things are buried and what the layout is.