Repairing A Water Service

Some genius thought it would be a great idea to put a plastic and copper device under shifty ground, with moving parts, that would deliver water, full of minerals, cholrine, and other caustic chemicals, to a mobile home. This genius went on to design this device and then bury several thousand (perhaps millions) of them into the ground.

Another certified genius decided to put several thousand (perhaps millions) 40,000 pound mobile homes directly on top of this faulty system. This particular genius gave no care to the fact that these homes would be set low to the ground, usually with around 30 inches of clearance, giving almost no access to water services. The fact that they may need to be repaired did not cross their mind. A typical case of Not my problem.

It is because of these ideas, that water services must be repaired occur almost daily, in mobile home parks. Especially when such devices were installed 30, 40, 50, and even 70 years ago.

Water Service

What is a water service? A water service, put simply, is a mechanism designed to bring water into a home. This can be in a mobile home, an apartment, a condominium, or a traditional home. Modern plumbing snakes through a domicile and allows the resident to flush toilets, pour drinking water, take hot showers, and various other day to day activities.

Depending upon the location, a water service can be from a municipal water system, or any number of other delivery systems, such as well pumps.

Causes of Damage

Areas with factors such as frost heave, seismic activity, shifting sands, and extreme temperature changes are not particularly helpful or healthy for devices placed under ground. These factors tend to push, pull, tug, twist, and lift such devices. Over time, even the strongest of materials will break, especially if they are subjected to extreme cold.

Additionally, home water service involves water. Treated water and pumped well water contain several chemicals which are corrosive or otherwise damaging to the plastics and metals used in delivering water service to a home. Water itself is an oxidizer, causing damage to other substances that it comes in contact with.

In the case of mobile homes, and other homes built in areas that do not have proper drainage, earth settling can also be a factor in damaging a water service. As a home and it's support age, they tend to settle downward. This settling can crush or force a water service down, upward, or twist the service, causing damage and leaks. The materials designed for water service are often not

Designed to Fail

The whole system is not a permanent one. As with most industrial projects, it is designed to be "maintained" and repaired when water or earth happen to damage it. This is why initial installation and subsequent repairs are often laughed at, scorned, or outright 'hated by the people who maintain water delivery systems. They feel as if they are repairing stupid mistakes done in haste by previous idiots.

Discovery

Discovery of damaged water systems can be extraordinarily tricky at times. Under normal circumstances, a damaged water main will expel water at a quick rate, causing ponding and streaming of water on the surface at the site of damage. Older systems may not exhibit obvious damage. Existing infrastructure can make discovery a complicated process when finding leaks.

Extenuating circumstances can hide a water leak from a maintainer, requiring extensive investigation that go above and beyond the normal inspection process. Factors that will obscure normal inspection may include:

• Water leaks near a storm sewer, infiltrating the storm sewer system.
• Water leaks near a sanitary sewer, infiltrating the sanitary system.
• Slow water leaks, characterized by dripping or mild sprays of water, due to underground damage of water main systems, creating voids surrounding the service, but not powerful enough to send water to the surface.
• Water itself, evaporating at ground surface level.