Mystery of the Natural Spring: A Severn Trent Tale

Click For Summary
A village resident observed water flooding her lawn during a hosepipe ban and reported it to Severn Trent, the local water authority. They initially dismissed it as a natural spring, allowing the water to drain away for five weeks. Eventually, Severn Trent discovered an uncharted water main on her property. The discussion highlights the absurdity of the situation, where the resident could have faced fines for watering her lawn while it was being washed away by the leak. The conversation shifts to broader issues regarding water authority responsibilities and the complications of property lines and water main ownership. Participants share personal experiences with water main issues, emphasizing the challenges homeowners face when leaks occur on their side of the meter. The discussion also touches on the differences in water meter placements and responsibilities across various regions, particularly contrasting practices in the UK and the US. The thread humorously critiques the water authority's record-keeping and the potential legal implications for the homeowner.
  • #31
Danger said:
If this was indeed 'her own' main, she certainly wouldn't have called Severn Trent to investigate its leakage.
You think?!? I'm working for Northumbrian Water over the summer and the number of calls we get from people asking where their private pipes are located... I DON'T KNOW! THAT'S WHY THEY'RE PRIVATE!

Danger said:
She would have contacted whoever did the initial illegal hookup into the town supply (which would have been quite a feat of subterfuge on its own).
?

Danger said:
It's more likely that the water authority screwed up in their record-keeping and lost track of where all of their pipes were.
Yeah... that whole post was a joke btw. I just needed to tie it into the hosepipe ban. I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS KIND OF SCRUTINY!

How the hell are you anyway?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32
wolram said:
We do not have water meters in the UK, not around here any way, we just get charged a huge sum if we use water or not, the water board can even charge for a spring on your own land, the only free water is rain.
wE DO HAVE-oop fugging cappy lock- them and we'll be seeing more of them too. It actually works out more profitable for water companies to charge 'measured' than unmeasured, presumably because we are an awfy wasteful country. Blocks of flats for instance will usually have a water meter. If you can give me your grid reference I can uh... perhaps find your nearest one and uh... locate it for you. If you ever want to see one, that is. I AM GOD OF THE PIPES! THERE IS NOTHING I CAN'T DO!
 
  • #33
El Hombre Invisible said:
Yeah... that whole post was a joke btw. I just needed to tie it into the hosepipe ban. I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS KIND OF SCRUTINY!
On a physics site? If you don't want scrutiny, you're in the wrong place. :-p

El Hombre Invisible said:
How the hell are you anyway?
Doin' okay, chum. Adjusting to domestic life nicely, but I sure miss having a workshop and library and some place to park things. :rolleyes:
On the upside, she likes to cook.
 
  • #34
Danger said:
Doin' okay, chum. Adjusting to domestic life nicely, but I sure miss having a workshop and library and some place to park things. :rolleyes:
On the upside, she likes to cook.
That is an upside... if she CAN cook. If she can't, turn the kitchen into a workshop-cum-library. And as your attorney I advise you to get a motorcycle.
 
  • #35
She most certainly can cook. :-p I haven't used the can opener more than half a dozen times since I moved in, and that was for salmon or tuna.
The kitchen isn't big enough for either a library or a shop, but it has had to fill in a bit once in a while. W wasn't too pleased to catch me soldering an LED circuit on her cutting board, but she gave in when I pointed out that it was either that, her glass-topped coffee table, or her linen tablecloth. :biggrin:
Yeah, I'd love a bike, but...
 
  • #36
Hey Danger, the new ducati rr will be out soon, 205bhp the nearest you could get to a street legal race bike ony 37,500 quid, and you get a 3yr guarantee. :!)
 
  • #37
I'm not a good enough rider for something like that. I'll go like stink in a car, but bikes kinda scare me. I found the basic old 750 Cow pretty comfortable, but my favourite that I ever rode was a 600 BMW.
 
  • #38
:eek: :-p

How could you? you should never use the b word in front of a brit biker.
 
  • #39
:-p

If it's any comfort to you, I was trying to convince my cousin to sell me his 750 Commando about 30 years ago. He wouldn't, though.
 
  • #40
Yeah, BMW had a sweet-riding R60 back in the early 70's. My friend's was the burnt-orange color with the mini fairing like a cafe racer. I've owned only Harleys for the past 20+ years, but if it's any consoloation, Woolie, the one of the most spirited singles I've ever ridden was a Manx Norton. I didn't buy it because of the scarcity of parts around here, and instead went with a Honda 450 CL - a nicely geared street scrambler that would shock the 650s on the green lights.
 
  • #41
A manx norton :!) oh i wish, you should have bought it turbo, replica parts are made here, i think a complete engine is available now, but costs loadsa money.
 
  • #42
wolram said:
A manx norton :!) oh i wish, you should have bought it turbo, replica parts are made here, i think a complete engine is available now, but costs loadsa money.
Do the replica engines still have the external valve-train drive? You know, the one that spits oil all over your right leg? :smile: Yeah, if I had the money to buy that as a project AND buy the used CL450 for reliable cheap transportation, I would have done so, and tinkered it little by little. My wife and I were newly married, just starting out with used furniture, rented apartment, and low-paying jobs, so I wasn't in a position to do that.
 
  • #43
Danger said:
On the upside, she likes to cook.
Does that mean the next time you post a photo of yourself, you'll have added on a few pounds (or kilograms)? :biggrin:
 
  • #44
Possibly. :rolleyes:

On the other hand, she provides a way to work it off. :devil:
 
  • #45
turbo-1 said:
Do the replica engines still have the external valve-train drive? You know, the one that spits oil all over your right leg? :smile: Yeah, if I had the money to buy that as a project AND buy the used CL450 for reliable cheap transportation, I would have done so, and tinkered it little by little. My wife and I were newly married, just starting out with used furniture, rented apartment, and low-paying jobs, so I wasn't in a position to do that.

British bikes all ways drible fluid down your leg, that is the way you know that they love you :smile:
 
  • #46
wolram said:
British bikes all ways drible fluid down your leg, that is the way you know that they love you :smile:
I've ridden lots of British bikes - that one must have had a wicked crush on me!
 
  • #47
Evo said:
Because I told them it was flooding my basement, so he knew the break was near the house. :frown:

The builder ran substandard pipe and a joint broke.

Moonbear is correct, the have a pole that they stick into the hole, one turn and the water is off. Takes 2 seconds.

Ok. Sorry it took me a bit to get back to this. Looks like it's a bit off topic. Anyway, the point is that it is easy for THEM to turn it off. It is not easy for John Q. Homeowner to do it. Water can leak upstream and follow a pipe for several hundred feet. I've had it happen. I'd fight this. If it is supposed to be the homeowners responsibility, then they shouldn't care if you dug up their crappy valve and do something different. But, I know the answer to that proposal. They can't have it both ways.
 

Similar threads

Who is the Killer at the Beach Barbecue?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
5K
Did the 1883 Krakatoa Explosion Leave Ships in Peril?
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
7K
Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 241)
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
5K
Mathematica This Week's Finds in Mathematical Physics (Week 266)
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
4K