Older homes across the Five Boroughs of NYC are known for experiencing water main breaks. Most recently NYC homeowners living in homes built prior to 1968 are experiencing an influx of broken water main breaks and nobody knows exactly why.
Over the previous weeks many homeowners have become aware of their broken water lines after experiencing a loss in water pressure. Where most people think this is the primary notification that their water main is leaking, you would be surprised that many homeowners experience leaks and never suffer from a loss in pressure. The most common way for a homeowner to become aware of a leaking water main is after experiencing water surfacing on their sidewalk, or the roadway fronting their house.
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The sidewalk leak |
The roadway leak |
Another less likely reason for suffering from a loss in water pressure is when the water main tap is clogged.
The water main tap is the valve that connects the private water main, to the city water main and controls the volume and pressure of water feeding the house.
In this case the licensed plumber will excavate one hole in the roadway over the city main and use a special tool to clean the tap. If this does not work, the next logical step is to replace the entire water line from the street, into the house.
Digging over the city main
If you are suffering from a loss in pressure due to a water main leak, the only option is to replace the water main with a new copper pipe. The process starts the same as when cleaning the tap, with one hole on top of the city main, followed by several other holes where the new copper will be installed below ground.
New copper is inserted below roadway
