# What's the best way to locate a water line?



## Guest (Oct 2, 2007)

I need to rent a ditchwitch to run some underground electrical conduit and there is a water line in the path but I don't know just where it is. I know in what direction the water line comes from and where it stubs up in the barn but in the path of the water line to the well is a septic system with leech llines. SO I don't know which way around the septic system the waterline runs. 

How deep do you think they may have layed the waterline? My conduit is only for about a 50 amp/240 circuit max. I am suppose to bury it 2 feet deep but am thinking of just burying it 1 foot in hopes of not hitting the water line. But still afraid of hitting it. 

I don't like digging where there might be something else and don't know where!


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

The easy way is to hire a detector and let them find it for you. Another way is to use copper weelding rods and find it yourself. Get rods about 3 feet then bend a samll L shape on one end then hold them loosely in your hand out in front of you and walk across where you thing the water line is. The rods will cross over the water line.


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## hillsidedigger (Sep 19, 2006)

When a geyser appears where you are digging, you can bet you have found the water-line.


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## moopups (May 12, 2002)

Stretch a string line from the source to the output area, humans are very lazy and will follow the easiest pathway.


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Dont you know any witches?


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

The way I have always found them is by chance, when digging a hole for a new fence post


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## Mr.Hoppes (Sep 30, 2006)

hillsidedigger said:


> When a geyser appears where you are digging, you can bet you have found the water-line.


This is what I was going to say. LOL

(Mrs. H)


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## The Paw (May 19, 2006)

r.h. in okla. said:


> I need to rent a ditchwitch to run some underground electrical conduit and there is a water line in the path but I don't know just where it is. I know in what direction the water line comes from and where it stubs up in the barn but in the path of the water line to the well is a septic system with leech llines. SO I don't know which way around the septic system the waterline runs.
> 
> How deep do you think they may have layed the waterline? My conduit is only for about a 50 amp/240 circuit max. I am suppose to bury it 2 feet deep but am thinking of just burying it 1 foot in hopes of not hitting the water line. But still afraid of hitting it.
> 
> I don't like digging where there might be something else and don't know where!


Let's see:

Choice A - dig 2 feet deep, take a chance, hit the waterline. Water spurts. Oh darn.

Choice B - bury electic line 12 inches deep to avoid waterline. Hit electric line next year with spade or tiller. Sparks fly. EMTs show up, followed by hearse.

Any more questions?


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## Mr.Hoppes (Sep 30, 2006)

Just one question....

How cute are the EMTs?


~Mrs. H


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2007)

Old Vet said:


> The easy way is to hire a detector and let them find it for you. Another way is to use copper weelding rods and find it yourself. Get rods about 3 feet then bend a samll L shape on one end then hold them loosely in your hand out in front of you and walk across where you thing the water line is. The rods will cross over the water line.


I've done this method twice before and it worked for me. Only thing was I kind of new just where the line might be and the copper rods confirmed it for me. But this time I really don't have a clue as to where the water line is and not 100 percent positive of my witching. There is also another small UF cable running to the barn. Which won't be needed if I get the bigger circuit installed in the barn.

Mitch, no can do. The well house sets to the west of the house and the barn is straight to the east of the house. The wellhouse is somewhat to the southwest of the house and I figure the waterline path is probably to the south of the house. But it also has to go around the septic tank before it gets to the barn which sets on the southeast side of the house. Just don't know which direction around it they took around the septic!

:shrug:


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2007)

You have a good point there "The Paw". That's the reason why we are suppose to bury them deep! 

I'm trying to keep from having to run back to town and buy plumbing supplies if I hit the waterline. 25 miles back to town! I guess it would still be cheaper then a lawsuit if someone got electicuted.


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2007)

Duh! Yesterday I couldn't spell "Electician", now I is one!


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## wheeezil (Apr 8, 2004)

a lot of people when they run water lines put a 14 guage wire alongside the pipe to make it easier to locate


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## js2743 (Dec 4, 2006)

try the welding rods or i always just use a coat hanger untwist it and make two wires and bend and L in them and hold them out in front of you one in each hand loosely they will cross when you are over the water line. oh you hold them by the L's the short part in you hands.


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## wilderness1989 (Feb 23, 2006)

js2743 said:


> try the welding rods or i always just use a coat hanger untwist it and make two wires and bend and L in them and hold them out in front of you one in each hand loosely they will cross when you are over the water line. oh you hold them by the L's the short part in you hands.


That's always worked for me. You can't loose much but some wire, try it. Point the wire straight ahead of you and they will cross when you cross the line walk slowly.


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

Call the water company. They will come and locate for free. In Ar there is what is called one call and you will be fined if you do not call before you dig and you hit something.


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## SDjulieinSC (Aug 8, 2005)

Dial 811. It is the nationwide call before you dig number.
http://www.call811.com/
There is state specific information here.
It may take a day or two to get them out there and your "ticket" will be good for a certain length of time.
If lines are missed or marked wrong you are not liable for damages, if you don't have a locate ticket you will be. They will locate all utilities with one call.
Its FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## travlnusa (Dec 12, 2004)

I agree with the others about calling someone. In both WI and MN, you call a number 72 hrs before you dig, and they will come out and mark all of your lines. They will do this free (utility companies pay the bill) once per year. 

When we moved into new place, I called them to mark all the buried stuff. I then drew a a map for future use. If the need comes for me to dig close to a line on my map, I will call them again, but it is a good guide to keep me away from what is there.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Easy. Just move 600 miles north. We bury water lines about 8 feet here.


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## Old Vet (Oct 15, 2006)

SDjulieinSC said:


> Dial 811. It is the nationwide call before you dig number.
> http://www.call811.com/
> There is state specific information here.
> It may take a day or two to get them out there and your "ticket" will be good for a certain length of time.
> ...



The only thing is that she is on a well and not on city water. They will not find well water. They use a map to find the uitilites and don't care if you mess up what you own. On well water you are on your own.


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## SDjulieinSC (Aug 8, 2005)

Oops. Guess I didn't pay close enough attention to the well part.  
I work for a natural gas company and ALOT of what we do here is damage repair. Please don't ever put too much faith in the maps, they are not as accurate as one would like to think. Line (power, water, phone, cable) depths may vary a good bit from one place to another, directions may change. 
We always dig a "sight hole" even after the lines have been marked.
Guess if I ever dig a well I will have to run my own tracer wire along the lines and invest in a pipe horn.
Sorry I didn't read better, and good luck.


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## Guest (Oct 2, 2007)

Yep, this is out in the good ole country side of Northeast Oklahoma. Where natural gas lines and utility departments are a rarety. I could call the 1-800 number and they would probably laugh at me when they find out where we are located. 

I have done the witching with rods before as mentioned. Just not 100 percent sure of myself. I have plenty of solid copper wire laying around to make the witching rods.


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## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

Heres a tip for the future once you dig your trench for you eletric line coverit a foot or so then lay plastict caution tape in the trench and continue filling. 
In the future if you do start to dig over the line you'll find the caution tape before hitting the line and hopefully remember to stop digging


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## watcher (Sep 4, 2006)

I can tell you how the pros do it when the water line is running under concrete. Shut off the water, cut the water line, run a clean wire into the water line then use a metal detector to follow the wire. 

If your wire isn't long enough follow it as far as possible, mark the spot, dig down to the line, cut the line, reinstall the wire and move on down the line. Repeat as necessary.


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Or you can dig by hand...


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## EccentricFollys (Aug 7, 2007)

You could use a probe. Locate where the line comes out of the house or the well, and then try to follow it, with the probe. Should be able to figure the path out with the wyhching rods and the probe.

May i also suggest that you either bury a wire with or make a really good map of anything you bury in the ground. SDjulieinSC is right. Things move after they've been buried. Knew of a septic tank that moved 5ft up hill, after it was buried.


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## Kazahleenah (Nov 3, 2004)

I'm sure someone has already said this (I haven't read all the replies) but I have always found the easiest and fastest way to find a water line is to start digging.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

I use copper wire from a 3' piece of Romex, bend in "L"s like several others mentioned. Works for me. You'll find the UF line and the water line, both. It could get messy around the septic lines, though, but you should be able to get a really good idea of where things are.

Jennifer


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

I always use brazing rods verified with a sharpshooter shovel. Always bury the electric UNDER the water, "someone" is much more likely to have to dig up and repair a waterline break somewhere down the road......It is strongly recommended to sleeve (run inside a metal pipe) the electric where it crosses the water. This is to prevent someone digging up the waterline to repair it and cutting into the electric line with a shovel or backhoe. Someone hitting the pipe with a shovel most likely won't cut the electric (not a good place to be standing in a water filled hole and cut an electric line). If a backhoe catches the pipe, most times the electric will break just outside the metal sleeve and trip a breaker somewhere (voice of experience here....)

P.S. Always mark electric and water with marker tape (also known as tracer tape). Available at most all chain home improvement stores or you can score some free from GRDA or local Electric Coop (if you're not in that part of N.E. Ok) will give you a partial roll and any rural water department will spare a couple hundred feet of waterline marker tape. Should be buried within the first six-twelve inches of topsoil so the person coming along behind you finds it with the first shovel full of dirt.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2007)

I guess I should mention, this is not my home that I will be doing the electrical work at. The owner just bought this house from a bank repo, and it has been vacant for 2 years. So the new owner has no ideal where anything is. He just wants all the electric lines to run underneath the ground. The line I am replacing runs from the meter pole overhead and runs between a forked tree limb next to the barn. The tree has grown and the cable is now wedged deep down inside the tree. Probably losing voltage to ground by now. 

Well anyway that is my firt job for him. He has many more coming up.


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## Guest (Oct 3, 2007)

I guess I should mention, this is not my home that I will be doing the electrical work at. The owner just bought this house from a bank repo, and it has been vacant for 2 years. So the new owner has no ideal where anything is. He just wants all the electric lines to run underneath the ground. The line I am replacing runs from the meter pole overhead and runs between a forked tree limb next to the barn. The tree has grown and the cable is now wedged deep down inside the tree. Probably losing voltage to ground by now. 

Well anyway that is my firt job for him. He has many more coming up. Also forgot to mention. I made a couple of rods and tried them out here at my house and was able to find my gas, water, and electric lines easily. Hopefully that will be the way it goes at his house.


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