I have no complaints about how much bad stuff happens to me BUT...

[Gidney N Cloyd]

But I swear there must be a clause in my contract with the universe that if anything goes wrong it's going to happen on a Sunday or a holiday. Storm damage, utility/major appliance breakdown, injury, sick pet, car trouble, whatever. I can't remember the last time something big went wrong on say a regular work day where the people I need to fix it are readily available and able to handle it like a routine problem.
This morning it's a break in the water line leading to the house. Gotta call the public works department in a few minutes and report it. I suppose now I'll have my water turned off until regular business on Monday.

[siligut]

1. My sympathies, water problems are the worst.

Seriously, you have a 71% chance of having a problem occur conveniently on a weekday, it seems you beat the odds, but not in a good way. That said, not all city workers have today off. Good luck.

[siligut]

2. Oops

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. Does anyone know how these things are fixed?

This is a fifty year old suburb and the water line feeds from the front curb into the house. Leak seems to be near the curb and I think there's a shutoff valve in the front yard between the leak and the house (so shutting that off wouldn't seem to do any good; seems like they'd have to shut off the water to a bunch of houses to fix it, wouldn't they?). If they shut off the water to fix it wouldn't that affect the fire hydrants, too?

[rurallib]

4. I don't think shutting off the valve to your house shuts down the hydrant

bad news is I believe you are responsible for the cost of replacing a break. At least I know I am.
Really strange that you would be liable for that but.....
Hope the temperature stays a little warm - seems like these never happen at 80+

ETA - they are fixed by digging up your yard, sidewalk etc pulling out the broken pipe and putting in a new one.

[struggle4progress]

5. Where's your water meter?

[Kali]

6. our water line broke (again) on Tuesday

we have a deep well about 6 miles from the house and 500 feet lower elevation (pretty high pressure down there)

it's an inch and a quarter pvc line (hugh mistake, but seemed cheaper at the time) guys that glued that lower half mile were stingy or incompetent - there is a leak every 20 feet for quite a ways (wildlife water, yeah that's it!) and there are three or four spots that break regularly. sigh the worst being where the engineering experts at the NRCS insisted we switch over to steel to go under a road - that spot has been repaired once or twice a year since the line went in:eyes:

the only way to tell is either walk the line when you turn the pumps on (no time to do that every 4 or 5 days) or wait two hours and notice the water never made it up to the house. Then you have to drive back down there and dig up the line and cut out the bad joint and replace it. oh after you run to town for more glue or a 79 cent coupling.

thank dog for plastic and glue, I couldn't imagine the nightmare that galvinized pipe would have been, but still what a PITA.

oh sorry - your problem: if the break is on your side of the meter then you should be able to shut it off and dig it up and fix it pretty easy, if on the "city" side I suppose that must be their responsibility? you might be able to put a temporary clamp on a pipe if it is just a hole or something, but if it is at a joint or coupling you will have to shut off the water and fix it right.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. Thanks, Kali. I think the break is on the city side of the line.

Public works came out a few hours ago and looked at it. It's leaking water at the "rate of a garden hose" so they decided unless it gets a lot worse they'll wait until Monday to dig it up.