I just bought a house that was abandoned for about a year and I can't get water into the house. The house is on city water. When we bought it, the water was turned off at the street and the shutoff valve under the house was open. When we open the city's 1/4-turn valve, no water gets to the house.
Water goes to the city's valve, then into a meter, then into 1" black plastic pipe that runs for about 200' into the crawl space of the house. To clear all obstructions, I cut off the shutoff valve (it was very old & rusty and in need of replacement anyway) so now that 1" pipe is open under the house. A city water guy removed the meter and verified water comes through the valve (lots of it). He exchanged the meter and we still have no water. I called the previous owner (who inherited the property after a death) who said there is no other shutoff valve apart from the one under the house. He said he just turned the water off at the street.
When the city's valve is left open for hours, the meter doesn't register any water going through and no wet spots appear on the ground – it doesn't seem like the pipe is broken.
The only thing I can figure is that the water line is clogged, but I can't figure how that could have happened. How common/likely is it to have a clogged water line to a house (not just within a house)? I can call a plumber, but would like to exhaust all opportunities to fix this myself first. Any suggestions?
Best Answer
I would look for an additional shutoff valve as the pipe comes in the house possibly a pressure regulator or both , water supply pipes made of plastic don’t plug up like old galvanized pipe did so a 2nd shutoff usually in the garage or close to the water heater is probably turned off.