Good thing I was up, because the doorbell rang at 8:30! So began Day 2 (third round) of the water main contractor screw-up.
Last year in late October, early November, our oh-so-wise city leaders decided to tear up our street to replace the water main. It was a fiasco, with large equipment parked in spots that blocked sight of oncoming traffic, and/or in the narrowest parts of the street. There were also large piles of gravel/stone left in the street (all up and down the street) throughout the entire process, which lasted well into December, then picked up again in March through May.
I found out just how bad a job the contractors did in February when I had to call the plumber for the 2nd time in 2 months to come out and do the "roto-rooter" thing (typically we may have to do this twice a year). So, our friendly plumber came on out (same day! They really are nice people to work with.) and started snaking the pipe outside the house (I had been running errands and he made it to the house before I did and got started on it). Because he knew the timing of his visits was closer together than usual, he used a very long snake to make sure any clogs got pushed all the way out to the water main. Guess what? The snake got stuck! They called the city the next morning and told them what had happened, and that it was their professional opinion that the contractors work was a) the cause of the snake getting caught; and b) the cause of me needing their services twice in such a short time. City people came out and ended up digging up and replacing work that day; the contractors had left large chunks of concrete inside the water main, which is what the snake caught on. Several other neighbors had similar plumbing issues as well, so I know it wasn't something I did.
Upon the advice of these wonderful plumbers, I submitted my plumbing bills for December and February to the city to be reimbursed. Eventually they reimbursed me since the contractor wasn't dealing with it at all. I was assured that all of the work was being double checked before the road was paved, and that there would be no further problems.
So, April 4, 2012 rolls around, long after the road was resurfaced, and while I was busy on the computer, I eventually recognized the sound of cars/trucks and guys talking nearby. Looked out the window and saw several water company guys around the fire hydrant across the street. I thought maybe they were flushing the hydrants, so I went back to the computer. About 1/2 hour later, they were still around, but not doing anything, so I went on out to see what the heck was going on. Turns out there was another issue w/ the water main, not 50 feet from where they had to replace work last February, and this problem impacted the fire hydrant. The guy who had the equipment to determine where they needed to dig had been called, but was at least an hour away. That was around 4:30. Those poor guys were working until about 12:15 or 12:30 a.m. - some of them must have pulled a double shift.
I really wanted to go out and take a few pics while they were working (of the equipment, and some of what they were doing), but didn't know how they might react to it . . . and since I had (and still have) no desire to end up inside the hole they dug, whether by my own clumsiness or their irritation w/ me, I stayed inside, camera in it's bag. These pics were taken this morning after my mile walk.
Now we have a nice little patch of dirt in the middle of this previously very nicely resurfaced street. Who knows when that will get fixed since it wasn't a planned repair. Nothing else apparently going on up or down the street (so far). I don't know how many of us are on a boil advisory, but that's why the doorbell rang at 8:30 this morning; it was another water department/company worker asking if he could test the water from the hose spigot out back. He explained that if they could get the samples in early enough today, they might be able to get the boil advisory lifted early tomorrow.
While this wasn't what I would put in the "happy accident" category, it certainly could have been a lot worse. I'm very glad they found the problem before firemen needed to use the hydrant! I'm very glad the workers took a few minutes to explain what was going on when residents approached them. I'm very glad they fixed the problem (I hope, I hope, I hope) last night. I think this might end up in the "shared information makes the process go more smoothly" category of things I'd rather not have to deal with!
But, deal with it we do, and move on. One more obstacle to hurdle, but not the last one.
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