As you can see in the video above, a water main leak under a sidewalk is, unfortunately, common in residential areas. The property owners of NYC experience thousands of broken water mains every year. A large percentage of the broken mains occur beneath the roadway or public sidewalk. Being that both are “public” and fall under the jurisdiction of NYC, it is safe to assume that the city will make all required repairs. Well, that is not safe to assume in the Five Boroughs of New York City! Now, the real question is, who is responsible for a water main leak?
Water main leaking in roadway |
Water main leak on sidewalk |
If you are experiencing a similar situation to either of these pictures, you, the property owner, are required to hire a licensed and bonded plumber to open the sidewalk or roadway and resolve the leak.
What can happen if you do not resolve the leak?
It is common for the property owner to either ignore the leaking water pipe, or may not understand that it is their responsibility. In this case the NYC DEP will issue a 3 day notice violation to have the leak resolved and if not rectified at this point, they will issue a 10 day notice as well as turning the water off from the roadway.
In addition to the violations, you may cause additional damage to the roadway, as well as your property. When a water main leaks for an extended period of time it is possible for the leak to travel more than 20′ and create undermining conditions. So, you must understand that when a main leak is between the street and the house, you are still responsible to pay for the damage. Not to worry—our team of professional contractors at Harris Water Main and Sewer is here to help.
Water main leaking below ground |
What is the first step once a plumber is hired?
Once you have hired a licensed plumber that you trust to do the work, both you and the plumber should notify the city that the leak is under contract and will be resolved in the near future. As long as the water main leak is not flooding the entire street, a neighbor’s house or interfering with another utility, the DEP may be with an extension for a few days.
What does the work consist of?
Most copper water main installations are completed in one day and require the contractor to excavate in the roadway, as well as the public sidewalk and property. It is important to understand that just because your leak is surfacing on the public sidewalk, it may not actually require the contractor to dig on the sidewalk.
Fighting the water to stop the leak |
Digging on the sidewalk |
The water main installation is completed by blowing tunnels below the roadway/sidewalk and in many cases the plumber can bypass the sidewalk.
Work-site is ready for installation |
New copper pipe is installed |
Once the new water main has been installed the plumber is required to notify the city in the form of an affidavit, followed by the final restoration of the roadway and public sidewalk if opened
When is the city responsible?
The city is only responsible if the city regulated water main is broken or leaking. And then you may be wondering, who pays for a broken water main? The answer is simple—the city will take care of the damage and the costs. The city main is located parallel to the private home. The private water main runs perpendicular to the house, towards the city main. In rare cases the plumber may open the roadway or sidewalk to find out that it is the city water main creating the leak in the street.
