….after replacing the sewer pipe on our side of the property on New Year’s Eve I thought we were good for another 20 years
This time last week water started coming back up through the sewer drain again. We immediately called the plumber who did the job and he arrived early the next morning. He cleaned out as much as he could and he discovered that the problem was with the sewer pipe going out to the road on the city side of the property. He said we were good for awhile but the problem needed to be addressed as soon as possible.
My husband was on the phone for a couple of hours on Friday but couldn’t get through. Over the weekend we rationed our water usage by not taking long showers, using the washing machine or the dishwasher. On Monday Kevin called the city again but this time he got right through. A couple of hours later a crew showed up to see where the problem was. In the meantime the biggest storm of the season was upon us.
All afternoon the problem was being assessed by several people and finally the all important phone call was made to declare a potential sewer fail. The problem was that the gas people had to come out first because the gas lines are in close proximity to the sewer pipe. Due to the bad weather we had to wait another day before that could happen.
The next day my husband spend hours clearing away the snow and the city plows cleared the street and the sidewalks. When the gas people finally arrived there were more measurements and detection devices deployed to determine where the gas line was situated. Green paint was sprayed onto the area where the digging needed to take place but that wouldn’t happen until the next day (today).
I went to the Inn to bake bread and Kevin stayed home in case the gas people needed to talk to him. They finally arrived about 1:00 in the afternoon with about three trucks and a digger and front loader. Apparently it was pretty noisy as they dug up my neighbours driveway, sucked up the water and waste and pulled out the broken pipe. The good news was that the gas lines were about two feet away from the sewer pipe and now the city can come back and replace the pipe. Hopefully this will happen tomorrow. In the meantime we continue to ration our water usage. I have to give these workers credit because they came out on the coldest day of the year and tomorrow doesn’t promise to be any better.
Mama Cormier 
Wow, what a major ordeal! Thank goodness the problem was on the city side.
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Thank goodness it right. Having to pay for the damage to the pipe on our side less than a month ago was bad enough.
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Thank goodness they came out. Beautiful photos
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I want to get out and take some photos of the lake but it’s so cold that my battery on the phone freezes within minutes and I’m lucky if I can get one shot. The city is here now to put in the new pipes.
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That does put it into perspective
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Sorry to hear you are one of the people affected by bursting pipes. In this extreme cold, there have been many problems throughout the city with water pipes bursting. This is however the first I’ve heard of sewer pipes. Ugh! You have my deepest sympathies. I hope this is the last of it for you!
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I think these pipes are so old that they just collapsed from 75 years of use. It just so happened that they decided to bite the dust now. The city just pulled up outside so I hope they can get this done today. I’m starting to miss not being able to shower.
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I hope you get full water service soon! These frigid temperatures are putting a lot of strain on our antiquated water and sewer systems.
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They’re suppose to arrive tomorrow morning at 7:00. I hope this will be the end of it.
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Crazy story, hopefully this is the end to it! Stay warm, Carol! Marcus
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Staying warm is not the problem but it is good advice. I’d love to get out for a walk but I can’t even take photos because my batteries in the camera can’t stand this cold.
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I remember being in NYC in December 1992, and it was so cold the mirror of my Canon SLR wouldn‘t move anymore, the cameras back than didn‘t have batteries 😉
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It makes me wonder how people get those wonderful shots in Arctic and Antarctic.
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Oh the workers must have been miserable in that cold and snow. Hope it gets fixed today.
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Well if they were miserable they didn’t show it. The city workers arrive tomorrow morning at 7:00.
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