I am writing on behalf of my elderly mother who recently encountered a plumbing problem at her country home. She is a widow and she works hard to maintain her property and address problems as soon as they arise. When she noticed a possible plumbing leak by her garage, she remembered having a leak at that same location during the drought and so she called a plumber immediately. At the same time, she noticed county workers arriving across the street and spoke to them. They said they were working on a leak on the main line. She told them she had a plumber coming to see about a leak also and would be shutting off her water. She went inside to wash her hair and shower. The water was clear. She then shut off the water valve near the road that connects her house to the county line. When the plumber arrived he found a small break in a pipe. She watched as he and his assistant dug a hole, found the break, removed some sand-filled water from the broken pipe and repaired the break. This took about two and half hours. Meanwhile the contract workers who were repairing the main line packed up and left. About 30 minutes later, my mother turned her water back on to check the lines. When they did, they discovered thick mud, black gunk, and roots clogging up all of her lines. The plumber said that the cause was that the county workers did not back wash the main line. He worked quite a while longer clearing the lines of the muck and had to come back a second time when the cold water lines were still clogged. I am seeking an expert opinion on the possible causes of this plumbing problem. What most likely caused this issue and how can my mother prevent this in the future?



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There isn't much that your mother can do in this situation. If it happens again, opening the outside hose faucets to flush the system first before flushing the interior lines is about all that can really be done. Utility work happens, and sometimes it isn't done properly, or sometimes plumbers and their assistants make mistakes and blame someone else. We can only speculate as to who was the irresponsible party. Pointing fingers won't help, but you might be able to get some compensation on the 2nd trip out from your plumber from the city/county, but don't hold your breath.

Thank you for your reply. I assume you have experience as a plumber and understand the details that might have been overlooked to cause this problem. Was there anything specific my mother's plumber should have done to prevent this? She had exactly the same leak in the same spot during the drought. She had exactly the same repair done, but she did not have mud and gunk in her plumbing after the break was repaired the first time. Since her water was clear before she turned it off, where did the mud come from, in your opinion? Is there anything the county contract workers might have overlooked that could have led to this outcome? Do you agree with the plumber who said that the backwashing was not done properly? I understand that you would be making educated guesses.

Utility work happens, and sometimes it isn't done properly, or sometimes plumbers and their assistants make mistakes and blame someone else. We can only speculate as to who was the irresponsible party.

To determine the problem I would flush the entire system starting first with the hose bib at the service where the water comes into the home. Flush if for a 30 seconds or so. Then go to the back side of the home or the farthest hose bib from the front hose bib and flush it and the front hose bib at the same time to get as much volume thru the system for about 30 seconds. Be sure there is no air in the lines before you turn off these hosebibbs. Then close all hose bibs and go inside and flush the kitchen sink with the strainer removed from the faucet. Again you are wanting to hear no air passing through. Flush every faucet or valve inside. If you have AW bibbs remove the AW supply hoses and attach a garden hose and again flush each valve. This should stop any gunk from coming through any valve in the house. Be aware you may have sand or tiny rocks inside tub valves or other valves. also there are screens inside hoses at the Auto Washers, be sure these are flushed out by removing the screen and flushing the hoses. Any strainers on faucets in the bathrooms or the shower head need to be checked for sand or debris. Hope this helps. I don't think it is wise to try to pin this problem on the Plumber or the Water Company contractor as they will probably blame each other and this does not solve the problem. Look at it as a Homeowner chore that happens once in a blue moon. Someone said it in Forrest Glump...._hit happens!

Thank you for your reply. I think that the plumber took some of the steps you recommended, but I'm not sure. We will definitely give these ideas a try. I admit that I am frustrated that the customer is expected to pay 100 percent for a repair that was most likely caused by one or both of the professionals on each side pointing the finger at each other. Perhaps a split of the cost is in order. I don't think it should all fall on one party, especially since an error on the part of one or both of the others most likely caused the problem. It's all well and good to say _hit happens, but it's not necessarily a good business practice. I wonder how professional plumbers normally handle a situation like this. The plumber in this case called the county and told them that there was no way the leak he repaired on my mother's property caused the mud in her plumbing. The county requires an appeal in person and I'd like to help my mother if possible. She is only seeking what is fair. Thank you again for your specific ideas. Perhaps we can prevent this from happening again. I greatly appreciate your time and expertise.



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You might consider drafting a letter for your Mom to the Plumber and one to the County Department that made their repair and respectfully ask that they split the bill and that it would not be reasonable for you to have to pay for sand inside your waterlines immediately after they finished their repairs. I believe a Judge would find for your Mom. I know I would. But let me caution you I am not a lawyer so I would speak to someone you trust before proceeding. You may be able to craft a letter with words like your mom has been monitarily dammaged and you just want her to be made whole. Speak to someone who can help you with this. I don't think you want to get a lawyer involved with this, but maybe you could if they were unreasonable. Small Claims would be the way I would go if it were a few hundred bucks. All the best.

I would add that if you are going to fight city hall, document, document, and document. Write out a timeline, who did what when, keep all receipts, present photographs, and affidavits, etc. Otherwise is a "he said; she said" wordfight that easily gets tossed out. That said, if she now has clean water flowing throughout the house, I'd forget about and go on with life. Chalk it up to "the joys of home-ownership". There's no way YOU can prevent a main waterline break on your line, and how the water dept. chooses to to repair it. Or a tree from falling on your roof, etc. A good plumber can flush out your water lines for less money than getting a lawyer and taking it to court.



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Thank you for your helpful ideas. SR LOREN, I especially appreciate your unbiased opinion of the validity of my mother's complaint. FIXITANGEL, we will definitely document and outline the facts.



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