Outdoor water leak nightmare

[awz189]

Hi there,

At the start of November, I got some builders to begin work on a kitchen extension. This involved breaking down the downstairs bathroom, with the idea that the new extended kitchen would be built in the same place. Building work however was stopped due to an unknown source of water which kept leaking into the hole which had been dug for the foundation of the new kitchen extension.

We called out an emergency plumber who ended up changing the main water pipe which feeds the property, for around £2000. The leak has still persisted. Today we have had Severn Trent come around and check with the neighbours, and there does not appear to be a leak from their main supply pipes.

Could this be ground water? The trench is around 70 cm deep. It doesn't appear to be from the drains or sewage as we can't detect any smells or the appearance of waste water. I have emptied the trenches twice, but they seem to fill up again in a matter of days.

Any help much appreciated

 

[CBW]

Seems a lot of water to be ground/surface. After the water has been emptied out can you attempt to trace its origin?

 

[Mister Banks]

Aren't Severn Trent responsible for the water main to your house? Shouldn't they be investigating where this water is coming from?

 

[CBW]

Aren't Severn Trent responsible for the water main to your house? Shouldn't they be investigating where this water is coming from?

They’re only responsible for the boundary, and if potentially main drains.

 

[Exedon]

Easy to check drains get some drain dye put down drains see if colour appears in trench.
Same for top water if separate system.
Having said that in some of area's I work in what your seeing would be considered normal in current weather.

 

[awz189]

Severn Trent made two visits today. They checked the pipework leading up to the house, and found no leak. Also checked the pipework which leads to my neighbours homes on both sides and found no leak. So basically checked everything they were responsible for, including the drains with there being no leak.

Before they left they put some dye into my kitchen sink and also my neighbours toilet to see if the dye goes through and can be visible in the hole. Not very hopeful about it, but will see tomorrow.

Previously when I have removed all the water, I have found small leaks in the bottom of the upper brick wall as can be seen in the below picture. To the far side of these bricks is the shared drive way which is concreted over. So I'm not sure where this is coming from.

Previously the emergency plumbing company mentioned that it could be the water table, or the pipes managed by Severn Trent (which they have now checked). Due to the amount of water I am still slightly skeptical that this is ground water.

 

[terryplumb]

Do you have a water meter ,if so where is it sited ? Do you have any internal water pipes buried in concrete or below ground floor Level in a void ?

 

[awz189]

Nope we don't have a water meter

 

[terryplumb]

Do you have a water meter ,if so where is it sited ? Do you have any internal water pipes buried in concrete or below ground floor Level in a void ?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Buy, borrow, or steal a sump pump to pump it out - so you might get a clue which general area it is coming in from.

 

[CBW]

Looks like that wall is part of the house, as per Terry - does you main or any other pipes run in the void?

 

[jeff the gasman]

Water Table.
Or Water table. Everywhere has one. If you’re in Cheshire it’s not far down.
Could also be a spring!
Where are you? Any hills?

 

[oldbutnotdead]

If you don't empty the water out, does the level continue to rise until water reaches ground level or does it stop somewhere below ground? If the latter it's almost certainly water table.

 

[Mister Banks]

They’re only responsible for the boundary, and if potentially main drains.

Sorry, I was confusing mains water with waste pipe. On my property the waste pipe is shared with my neighbour so the water authority is responsible for it.

 

[Madrab]

I think you are probably going to need to trace this back with a bit of groundwork. Drain out the water, and then see where it ingresses and the start to track back along that path. Not a good time of year mind you.

You need a good local groundworker to look at it all as they will have the expertise and should know the local ground conditions. I can't believe it is the water table if this is the first time it's appeared and caused an issue like this.