Panic at the water main.

I live on a fairly busy street in a small, incorporated suburb. My street was recently under construction. I don't know what the purpose of the construction was, but about two weeks ago workers dug up part of the sidewalk in front of my house, right over the water main, and jackhammered something so hard that the motion sensors in my house went off. Then they replaced everything and went on their merry way, and I thought no more about it.

Early this week, I noticed some water and ice at the end of my driveway and along the sidewalk. It wasn't coming from the house itself. By Tuesday night, there was enough water to confirm a problem (my nice neighbor also left me a note suggesting I might have a leak). Based on the location of the water, I assumed it had to do with the recent construction and the water department would take care of it. But yesterday morning, after multiple calls to the water department and even the mayor's office, I was told that the leak was on the homeowner side of the main and the responsibility was all mine. This was even more infuriating when I got home and saw (by then the source was visible) that the leak in the yard was directly "north" of the water main and the place that had been jackhammered. Clearly not a coincidence, but there was nothing else I could do about it.

So I called AMC Plumbing. A plumber came out almost immediately and fixed the leak for $600 flat, even though the job turned out to be more complicated than it appeared. If you're in a similar situation, I highly recommend them. Also, the water department told me to call back when the leak was fixed and they'd "regulate" my bill. I don't know what that means exactly, but I won't have to pay the full amount. Overall, it could have been much worse.

So thanks to the reasonable plumber, and my dad, I have now weathered my first solo homeowner crisis. (Seriously, after this year I definitely have the World's Best Dad, so the rest of you dads can just put away your coffee mugs. :)) I felt so out of my element and afraid that no one would help me, or someone would rip me off, and my house would flood. But now all is well and hopefully I'll cope better next time. :\

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