It makes sense that a water main would run down our property next to the busy road as a supply line to the neighborhood. I don't know if this is true or not but it makes sense. Also, the nearest water tower and the water company itself it north of us.
One thing I noticed this spring was an area of our yard that was very wet, even when there had not been any rain recently. We did have record amounts of rain this year so that could be the reason for the excess wetness. Today however, there has not been much rain for a while but this spot in my yard is still wet. It is wet to the point of having standing water in a lower area. I have witnessed standing water in this area after a very had rain, but only then. We have lived here for almost 10 years and we have never had continuous standing water in this or any location throughout our yard.
My first thought after we dried out from the torrential rainfall this spring is that the water company might have a leak in one of it's lines. So we did what any normal citizen would do, we called the water company. I called and left a message on their after hours answering machine. Their hours are 9am - 4pm Monday to Friday. That is what I call some nice hours. I left our names, address, phone number, and why I was calling at 4:56pm on a Wednesday.
A couple weeks went by and we don't hear anything from the water company. So I call and leave another message since I work normal hours and normally get too busy to remember to call the water company.
One weekend I'm mowing my lawn and my neighbor walks over. We will call him John. A little background on John, he is in his mid to late fifties and he is retired. He is kind of like the unofficial neighborhood watchman. He knows what is going on in the neighborhood. He called the police on a private investigator that was working on a workman's comp claim with one of our neighbors. John is a nice guy and will help anyone out with anything.
When John walks over, I am in the middle of mowing the wet spot. He proceeds to tell me the water company was out a few days prior. The truck stopped and a man and a woman get out and look at the water standing in my yard. The woman retrieves a six foot long metal rod with a "T" handle on the top. She takes the rod to the wet spot and pushes it into the ground / mud all the way to the handle.
She looks over at her co-worker with a surprised look on her face. I guess it was unexpected to be able to push the rod all the way into the ground. They talk for a few minutes, make a couple of phone calls and then get in their truck and leave.
A couple hours later another truck comes to the house and this time two men get out of the truck and proceed to do the same thing. They pushed the "T" rod into the ground all the way to the handle. They make a couple calls, get in the truck and leave. A third vehicle arrives, this time with some men with white shirts and collars. They come out and look at the yard, talk for a bit and get in their car and leave.
Being armed with this new information and still not understanding why the water company has not had the courtesy to call us back, the Chief calls the water company from work. The Chief explains the situation but the operator did not know anything about the situation. I wonder who gets the voice mail, I guess not the person that answers the phone.
The operator puts the Chief on hold to call the maintenance shop. A bit later, she comes back on the phone and says that there is no leak in any of the water lines and that the issues was not the responsibility of the water company. She says it might be a spring.
I'm not a geologist and I definitely do not play one on the phone during my real job. I don't think a spring can just appear out of nowhere. I think normally springs are found on the sides of hills where water can run underground from one area of higher elevation to an area of lower elevation.
The Chief calls me and tells me the story. I decide to call the water company. I speak to the same receptionist and she tells me the same thing, the water is not their problem. I ask whose problem it is and she doesn't say anything. I quickly go on with my idea:
I'm thinking of taking a 5 gallon plastic bucket and drilling a series of small holes all over the bucket. Then I'm going to dig a hole in the wet area of my yard and insert the bucket into the hole leaving the top open. Then I will get a submersible pump and put it in the bucket and set up a hose and a sprinkler and water my lawn. She laughs and says it is a good idea.
After that little detour, I explain that there has never been a wet spot in the yard in the nearly 10 years we have lived here. Also, since it is not the water company's issue and it is apparently my problem, I ask to have that put in writing. So when I start to dig I can't be held responsible for the outcome. She is silent for a few seconds, I can hear the gears turning inside her head. She puts me on hold for a minute or two and then comes back on the line. Another maintenance truck will be sent out to reevaluate the situation. I leave my cell phone number and request to be called when the truck will visit. She agreed and said they will call me before the truck comes out to the house.
Tomorrow will be one week since I had the conversation with the water company and I have not received a call yet. At work we have out of town visitors in for the next week and a half so I'm sure if I get a call it will be this week when I'm busy at work. At least my neighbor will be around and he can talk to them and keep them here until I get home.
Here are some pictures.
View from the corner up the street
View from the start of the water spot looking downhill
Low spot next to the corner
View downhill through our subdivision
I'm sure the saga to have a dry yard will continue... on the bright side, when the rain stops I will still have one green area of my yard since I don't water.
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