Waking up to a puddle of water, or a sinkhole in front of your house is a common occurrence throughout NYC. Most homeowner’s natural inclination is to contact the city for a resolution to what is projected to be “a city water main problem”. Unbeknownst to the homeowner, your pipe may be leaking and is your responsibility for repairing or replacing the pipe.

At this point many homeowners will inquire about repairing the pipe for a cost savings, as opposed to replacing the entire water line from the house to the roadway. There is a great deal of risk associated with attempting a water line repair.

Factors to consider

How old is the existing pipe? Do you think it has served more than half its lifespan? You should never attempt a repair on old and corroded pipes.

What material is the pipe made of? If the pipe is lead, there is no option but to replace the pipe. A water main repair on a lead pipe is completely illegal throughout the five boroughs of NYC.

Have you had a repair to your water line in the previous twenty years? If you have a repair on your pipe, it is more susceptible to leaking again. At this point, replacing the entire pipe would avoid any future water main issues.

Not possible for repair

Successful repair on a two year old copper pipe

If the pipe has been installed within the previous 5-10 years you may consider a “spot repair” of the water line but you must understand that there is a lot of financial risk associated with a repair. One major misconception is that the pipe is leaking right below where the water is leaking in the roadway or sidewalk. It is important to factor the way water travels below ground level, and that it will seek the weakest point in the ground to surface. This can easily be ten to twenty feet away from where the pipe is leaking. The cost to dig and search for the leak may end up being more costly than it was to just replace the entire pipe from the beginning. If you do find the location of the actual leak and repair it, you now may have spent more money and are more susceptible to leaking again in the future.

Lead pipe leaks below ground

New copper pipe is installed

It makes more sense to entertain a spot repair if the pipe is just a few years old and is leaking at the point where the pipe connects to the city pipe. In this case it may make sense to dig one hole in the roadway and attempt a repair at the connection, yet there is still financial risk involved.

It may also make sense to entertain a repair of your pipe if another utility contractor had been working in the roadway and your pipe began leaking shortly after the other contractors work was completed.