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Lebanon Plumbers, home

Leak Detection & Pipes

Water Line Repair and Replacement

The buried run from the curb stop to your house belongs to you. When it fails, so does the whole property's water.

(717) 000-0000Request this service

What is included

What this service covers

What we actually do on this job, and what you can expect us to deal with while we are there.

  • Locating leaks on the buried supply line
  • Replacing the customer-owned run from the curb stop to the house
  • Trenchless replacement where ground conditions suit it
  • Upgrading undersized supply lines that limit whole-house pressure
  • Reconnecting meters, main shutoffs and pressure reducing valves
  • Restoring the main shutoff where it is seized or missing

Signs to look for

You may need this if you are seeing any of these

  • A wet, soft or unusually green strip across the front yard
  • Pressure dropping across the entire property at once
  • The meter running with every fixture inside turned off
  • Water surfacing near the curb or the sidewalk
  • Gravel or paving over the line subsiding
  • A sudden increase in the water bill with no usage change

Why it happens

What usually causes it

01

Age and material

Older galvanized and some early plastic supply lines reach the end of their service life and start weeping at multiple points rather than failing cleanly in one place.

02

Ground movement and frost

Settlement, frost heave and vehicle loading over a shallow run all stress a buried line. Failures cluster where the pipe changes direction or passes under a driveway.

03

Corrosive soil conditions

Soil chemistry attacks metallic lines from the outside, which is why a line can fail while looking sound from within.

04

Damage from other digging

Fence posts, landscaping, driveway work and other utility excavation all nick supply lines, and the leak often does not surface for months.

Our approach

How we handle this job

Specific to this work rather than a generic checklist bolted onto every page.

  1. 01

    Confirm it is the buried line

    Meter testing and isolation at the house separate a supply line leak from an internal one, so nobody digs up a yard for a fitting in the basement.

  2. 02

    Locate and mark

    The run is traced and the leak position pinpointed from the surface, then marked, so excavation goes to one point rather than following the pipe.

  3. 03

    Repair or replace, honestly

    A single clean puncture in an otherwise sound modern line can be repaired. An old line weeping in several places is a replacement, and patching it is money you will spend again.

  4. 04

    Mark utilities, then dig

    PA One Call is contacted before excavation so buried services get marked. That is a legal requirement. Municipal permits are handled where the run crosses a sidewalk or the right of way.

The part of your plumbing you never think about

The buried line running from the curb stop to your house is the only pipe on the property whose failure takes out everything at once. It is also the one nobody inspects, because there is nothing to see until something goes wrong.

Ownership catches people out. The utility owns the run from the main in the street to the curb stop near the sidewalk. From there into the house it is yours, which means the section crossing your own front yard is your responsibility to repair.

A main water shut-off valve on a copper service line in a basement

Spotting it early

Water surfacing is the obvious sign, but it is usually late. Earlier indicators are a strip of grass that stays greener or softer than everything around it, an area that never quite dries out, paving or gravel over the line subsiding slightly, and pressure dropping across the whole property rather than at one fixture.

The meter test settles it. With everything inside off, if the meter is still turning, water is going somewhere. Close the main shutoff inside and watch again: still moving means the loss is on the buried run.

An electric pressure testing pump connected to rough-in copper pipework in a stud wall

Check for lead before you commission anything

If your house is older, establish what the line is made of before paying to replace it. Lead and galvanized service lines fall under a federal replacement programme, your water authority may be scheduled to replace its own half, and coordinating the two halves matters because a partial replacement can disturb scale and raise lead levels temporarily.

Five minutes with a coin and a magnet at the point the pipe enters your basement answers it. The lead service line page explains what each result means.

Questions

Water line repair questions

Specific to this job. Every service page here has its own, none repeated.

General FAQ

Common questions

Is the buried water line my responsibility or the utility's?
Ownership splits at the curb stop, the shutoff buried near the curb or sidewalk. The utility owns the run from the main to that point, and from there into the house it belongs to the property owner. That means the section crossing your front yard is very often yours, which surprises people. If you are unsure where your curb stop is, your water authority can tell you.
How do I know the leak is outside rather than inside?
Start with the meter test: turn everything off inside and see whether the meter still moves. If it does, water is escaping somewhere. To narrow it further, close the main shutoff where the line enters the house and watch the meter again. If it keeps moving with the house isolated, the leak is on the buried run between the meter and that valve.
Can the line be replaced without digging up the whole yard?
Often, yes. A new line can be pulled through or alongside the existing path from a pit at each end, which leaves most of the lawn intact. Whether it suits depends on the length of the run, the depth, the ground conditions and what else is buried nearby. On the short front yards common in Lebanon city, open excavation is frequently quick enough that trenchless offers little advantage.
Will replacing the line improve my water pressure?
If the existing line is undersized or heavily corroded, yes, noticeably. A narrowed or restricted supply line limits every fixture in the property no matter what the internal plumbing is like. If your pressure problem is only upstairs or only at certain fixtures, the supply line is probably not the cause and the internal pipework is the more likely culprit.
Do I need a permit to replace a water service line?
Usually, and often an inspection before the trench is backfilled, particularly where the run crosses a sidewalk or enters the public right of way. We handle permits and scheduling as part of the job. Separately, PA One Call must be notified before any excavation so that buried utilities are marked, which is a legal requirement rather than a formality.
My line might be lead. Does that change things?
Considerably, and it is worth checking before doing anything. Lead and galvanized service lines are covered by a federal replacement programme, your water utility may be replacing its own half, and coordinating both halves matters because partial replacement can temporarily raise lead levels. Check the pipe where it enters your basement with a coin and a magnet, and see our [lead service line page](/services/lead-service-line-replacement/) before commissioning work.
How long will my water be off?
For a straightforward replacement, most of a working day, though rarely the whole time. We aim to have the new line in and the water restored the same day. Where the run is long, deep, or crosses hard surfaces, it can extend into a second day, and we will tell you that when we quote rather than on the morning.

Related services

Where we cover for this

All service areas

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Need water line repair in Lebanon County?

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  • Residential and commercial
  • Price agreed before work starts

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