water logging

[arkinspector]

I was at a house the other day and noticed the back yard had a lot of water standing.Further there was steady flow of water along the fence with their neighbour.The owner said that the water never dries up. They have stopped using the sprinkler system but this has not helped.My question is where can this water be coming from and what are the possible ways of correcting this problem.

 

[cvg]

broken pipe or a leaking swimming pool

 

[looksatstars]

that sounds like an artesian well if it was out on a piece of land or property but since it is the city water it is probably a leaking pipe.
It just started, see if his or the neighbour water bill increased dramatically. If not, then the leak is from the CC (curb cock) to the water meter.
You can turn off the CC at the property line of the client and neighbour, and that will stop the flow if the leak is there.
If its neither of those, then relook the artesian well.

 

[Dirtguy4587]

If you take a sample of the water down to your Municipality's Water Treatment Plant, they should be able to tell you if it is City Potable Water. If it is, I would suggest contacting your Public Works department to fix a leak.

 

[cvg]

public works will only fix the line in the street, up to the meter. if the leak is beyond the street right of way, you will need to call in a plumber with leak detection to find the leak and fix it.

 

[looksatstars]

"If you take a sample of the water down to your Municipality's Water Treatment Plant, they should be able to tell you if it is City Potable Water" by Dirtguy4587.

Curious? How would the Municipal Water supply be able to tell its their water?
I would think they would be able to tell the amount of chlorine to prove it is not groundwater but the free chlorine might be all gone by the time it goes thru the soil.
I would like to know if there is a way I am missing.

 

[cvg]

even with the chlorine gone, the water chemistry should be quite similar to the potable water in the system.

However, a previous suggestion should be followed first. Shut of the water to both houses at the meter. Wait a while and then check to see if the water flow decreases. If it does then you will know that it is a meter or water service to the house that is leaking. If this doesn't solve the problem, it might be a leaking water main. If neither of these, then you might assume either a leaking pool or artesian water source.

 

[arkinspector]

The water bill of this house has not changed over the period and according to the owner was not high. There is no swimming pools in any of the adjacent houses.This leaves me to agree with the suggestion made about the neighbours water line.I don't know if the water sampling could be a positive indicator after the water has been cotaminated by the soil.

 

[cvg]

with all the water leaking out of this pipe, I believe you could get a reasonably good sample for water analysis. But, much easier to just ask him to shut of his water for 5 - 10 minutes and see if the flow decreases in the back yard.