The sound of running water is never good

Last summer my youngest daughter Bronwyn got out our garden hose and had some fun with her friends. I heard later it was awesome.

The next morning I went downstairs to have a coffee with my wife Heather. We chit-chatted for a bit and then watched the news. As I sipped  my coffee I heard the unnerving sound of running water. My immediate thought was the toilet was running as it has a habit of doing. When I went upstairs to check it sat there silent. If it could have spoken (and I'm glad it didn't!) I pictured the toilet saying, "It wasn't me."

So who was it then?

I checked every sink in the house and found no running water. Then it dawned on me -- Bronwyn! I ran outside to check the garden hose but knew by the sopping wetness of the ground it was on before I could even see it. The water had been running for a good 12 hours.

Both Bronwyn and Daddy paid for that costly mistake. So you could imagine my concern when I heard the sound of running water again in March. It wasn't the same sound as the garden hose but it was running water. The outside hose was the first thing I checked but it had been turned off from inside since the fall. All the toilets and sinks were off too. So why could I hear distant, yet persistent running water?

The answer, I thought, resided with my neighbour who had water cascading down his driveway. A pipe had sprung a leak somewhere in his front yard and water was running to his driveway and down into the street. The Region of Durham came by, some very large holes were dug and the water mess was cleaned up. That was good for everyone, myself included, because I figured the running water sound I could hear from my laundry room would stop.

It didn't.

So I reluctantly called the Region of Durham myself to report the sound and my suspicion there could still be more leaks in my court. A guy came out and confirmed within seconds I was correct. There was a pinhole leak somewhere and that somewhere was within my own plumbing. A 'leak' specialist would have to be brought in and if the leak was on the wrong side of my property line I would be on the hook for the repair and all its costs. If the leak was on the Region's side it would be fixed by them. But I was warned, it would cost me a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $4,000 if that hole was on my side of that thin red line.

Gulp!

I didn't have $4,000. Actually I didn't even have $500 to spare on a plumbing problem so you could imagine the anxiety, the gnashing of teeth, the stress I went through awaiting the leak specialist's final word. When it came I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. The leak was in the centre of my driveway, about a foot and a half on the Region's side of the property line!

I found out my neighbour's leak was also on the right side of his property line so he too dodged a financial bullet.

The repair work hasn't started yet so I can still hear the sound of running water downstairs. But at least I know its source. And the best part is that money won't be running out of my wallet to fix it!