A New Rule of Life

When it comes to problems with your water supply:

  • It might be terrorist attack
  • It could be a cyber attack
  • It might be a blown water main
  • It might be tree roots working their way into clay pipes (surprisingly common in older parts of the country)
  • It might be a toy or something flushed down, and blocking the pipes
  • It might just be old age of the system

What I can GUARANTEE is that it will be VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE – and disrupt your life while it’s being repaired.

Why am I concerned about this today?

The guys from the water department just left – the meter is working correctly, and, yes, the water pressure is significantly down. Which means, it’s MY responsibility to pay for it.

Maybe I can sell a body part?

3 comments

    • Univ of Saigon 68 on July 20, 2022 at 12:24 PM

    Expensive, yes, but just as when you and the plumber are standing in the kitchen watching water pour through the ceiling – are you going to argue with him about the price? I think not.

    You will pay through the nose, or you will end up visiting the local water hole and carrying home two buckets of water slung from a yoke on your shoulders. It will have to last you until next time you can kill a squirrel or a rabbit to bribe the bandits who guard the water hole. And then you will have to collect fire wood to boil the water, because Giardia. And then . . .

    I’m sorry, I should stop. I’m just trying to make you feel better about having a First World problem instead of a Third World problem. It probably didn’t work. It never does when I try it on myself.

    • Linda S Fox on July 21, 2022 at 7:27 PM

    True, it is not likely to bankrupt me. But I’m VERY sorry that I didn’t encourage my children to enter the trades.

    • Roy on July 22, 2022 at 10:00 PM

    So, you had to have the meter checked. That means your problem is probably similar to one I had a few years ago.
    My wife and I kept hearing water running, but there was no leak anywhere inside the house, which I had checked by shutting off the main water cutoff to the house. Okay, the water company came out and shut off the water at the meter, which was out by the street in the front yard. The sound of running water stopped. That meant the leak was underground somewhere in the pipe between the meter and the house. The water man said anything downstream of the meter was *my* responsibility and left. Great. So I had to call a plumber.
    It turned out to be a break where the water pipe entered the basement of the house about 2 feet underground. The house is over 40 years old so I had the plumber replace the entire pipe. It took them about three hours to dig a new trench using a ditch-witch, place about 50 ft of new pipe and then hook it all up. It hurt. It hurt bad, but I still wrote the check with a smile because, like you, I didn’t want to haul water from the creek.

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