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Water main line break.

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canadian angus

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Was cleaning up some shrub that was encroaching on the house and cleared it back, and low and behold I had a spring. Water perculating up and still is.

What is the easy way besides digging up the whole yard?

CA :mad:
 
Hopefully the water is coming pretty strait up from the leak. I dug one up that surfaced several hundred feet from the leak. What kind of pipe and do you know about how deep. Knowing that will make it easier to find and how much will have to be exposed to fix it. Those kind usually don't take me more than about 3 hrs to fix from start to finish. What I like to do is dig parallel to the pipe just off of the center so I don't disturb one side of the original trench and let the old trench fall into my hole. Makes it easier to find the pipe, especially when the old trench is an 8" wide trencher trench. By digging along side the old trench it allows me to go below the pipe if I need to have someplace for water to drain to if I need to pump or bail it and less chance of hitting the pipe with the backhoe. Makes a place to pull the dirt off the pipe with a shovel. Backhoes are not real forgiving with PVC pipe, don't ask me how I know. :(
 
canadian angus said:
This is nine feet down, with a three foot wide hoe!

CA
Click to expand...

That'll get-r-done. That deep needs to be benched back on each side to prevent cave ins or use a trench box. With PVC pipe I usually get by with uncovering about 12' to 15' of pipe to cut out the break and glue in a new piece.
 
Just put in a pond with a waterfall...As long as the water keeps running it shouldn't even freeze. You can even water your horse there. :D

Digging holes in a yard sucks. No way around it but to get it over with.
 
If you have the time you can turn the water on when needed and then off for a few hours and back on - - - - this will allow the water to go stright up from the leak - - -but will take about 3 days and 10 to 12 turn ons. It is amasing as the first place you see the water coming up might be several hundred feet from the leak, or you might get lucky and be right over it.

Then I dig parrell to the pipe and try to stay about 2 to 3 feet off to the side. When I think I'm close I have the water turned on briefly as I zero in on the leak.

Dig about 3 feet below the pipe with the backhoe then hand drag the mud from around the pipe into the bottom of the hole you are in.

Make what ever repair is needed and I lay a cheap tarp up the side of the hole as I back fill to mark the spot in case you ever need to find the pipe again, just cut it off at ground level. You will never see the tarp again unless needed.

I do repairs for the local farmers several times a year - - - going to repair a 15" field tile tomorrow that is running so hard we are going to use (2) 8" trash pumps to keep the hole empty and we will bed the new tile in about 12" of #4 crushed stone to give it a good bottom to rest on as I don't want to have to go back to this repair again.

This tile was cut by the local drainage board putting in another tile and they stated they will come back and repair in August when it is dry enough to work! We can't wait as it is flooding about 10 acres of some of our best ground. I am going to send the drainage board a bill but I doubt I will ever collect!
 

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