Broken irrigation pipe?

I think it looks like the water main may be leaking. That might explain why the sidewalk is no longer level too. That would be fresh water, not sewer water, so it wouldn't stink. Or, does your area have springs. My FIL home in Arkansas had an area that was constantly wet, or small puddles. The area was notorious for small springs or seepage of ground water. He ended up putting in a French drainage system to drain the water.

Where is your water meter at? Are you sure it's not coming from the line to your house? You've shut everything off and watched for a spinning dial? If you have, then you need to be more persistant with public works to investigate.

Water will flow downhill even in the slightest of slopes. My bathroom floor looked perfectly level, but if the toilet overflowed, the water was under the sink, because, apparently, the floor was a teeny, tiny bit lower under the sink. So, consider slope when thinking about the problem.

Obviously water is coming from somewhere and has been for a while to cause the sidewalk to sink on one side. Not a huge flow because it looks like the curb and street are dry. Something is seeping.

How long have you lived there and has this always been wet? Do you have any landscape irrigation? A hose bib anywhere on that side of the house? An air conditioner unit dripping?

@Minardi

The water utility came out, shut our water off at the main, and did some testing. They found no leaks.

We called public works again today and they said they'll send someone out as soon as they can.

Also--for everyone else--we do not have irrigation system.

The wet area of the sidewalk extends all the way across the center section. Is that area staying constantly wet or did the puddle quickly drain down? If it's staying wet then you have water running out of the yard.

When you get your bill and compare it with back bills, is it now a lot bigger, showing you have a lot more usage? It would help to know just where your water meter is. Is it located in the front yard, or is it on the side of the house, or in the basement? Shutting your meter down, to check if its on your side of the meter is easy, however, you might also go look at that meter, after you make sure, you are running no water in your house, and watch the meter for a few minutes, to see if there is any change in the numbers, or if you still have the old type with the hand on them, is it moving. You need to find out if the leak is on your side of the meter, or if it is on the city side of the meter. Its already obvious, there is a leak.

Not sound like the song.....but. How LONG has this been goin' on? The only way it could seep toward the house? There's enough soggy sod at the curb line . Show the front yard and slope if any, toward the curb line. Do you water the front lawn ? You mentioned no rain " for weeks"

WHERE ARE YOU????

The question nobody is asking. How much rain have you gotten over the last few months? If you are somewhere that got 20 inches of rain a month ago, that matters.

@mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

I'm in southern NJ. We've had no significant rains in weeks, probably over a month.

Here's the current situation:

• Water utility came out and checked our meter and water line. They claim there is no leak between the water main and our house. They also checked our neighbor's water meter and claim there is no leak in the main between our homes.
• Public works came out and checked the sewer line. They claim there is no leak. This makes sense because the water is quite clearly freshwater and has no odor.
• I used a broom to sweep out the water three times. Each time, it filled back up within about an hour.
• We have no irrigation system or sprinklers. Our neighbors also have none.
• I thoroughly checked the grass and ground coming from our home to the sidewalk. All the ground feels solid and dry--indicating that it is not runoff from our lawn. Additionally, there is a gap of the sidewalk closest to our lawn that remains dry--further indicating that it is not runoff from our lawn.
• I reviewed our water usage over the past 36 months. In the last three months, our water usage is lower year-over-year and there is no significant delta in usage month-to-month over the last several months with the exception of one month (June) where it spiked about 20% and reduced back to the normal range in all the following months.
• I called public works back and explained my findings. They said that because the water main runs directly beneath the area, they can see no other possibility than the water main being compromised. They said they're going to call the water utility and get back to me.

So now we wait. I appreciate everyone's input. I sure hope they find something because otherwise, I have no idea who else to call.

Your story reminds me of some years ago, my dad complained to the city that part of the ditch in front of his house was always soggy, even when it hadn't rained in a while. The public works came, listened to the fire hydrant with a stethoscope, scanned the street with some kind of sonar-like apparatus, and assured my dad that everyting was fine under the ground. About a month later, the 14 inch water main bursted under the street, causing a 2-foot geyser in the middle of the street. The ditch dried after a few days of the repair.

Hello Everyone,

The water utility came back out and checked the public water main. They insist that there is no leak and that this is in fact ground water--which isn't surprising to me because this town was built on top of marshland. What we don't know is why the water is pooling in this location now. It could be that the sidewalk has sunk enough to finally allow it to do so. However, the sidewalk doesn't appear to have sunken very much compared to the rest of the sidewalk nearby.

The township also agrees that it's groundwater and has assigned an engineer to the problem. So, we'll see where this goes.

Here's my equation from my window across the interwebs:

New Jersey = basement = sump pump can pump up to days or weeks after a rain and even without any rain = discharge somewhere on property = sloped yard to sidewalk = sidewalk not perfectly level = sod is above sidewalk creating bathtub = water pools.

Hello Everyone,
The township finally sent an engineer to assess the situation. Here are his findings:

• The groundwater is coming from an artesian well.
• The whole town was built on top of marshland and would not have been developed under modern standards for this reason.
• There is nothing the township can do about it. I asked them if there was any private solution I could explore at my own cost. He said there was nothing he could think of.

So, I guess that leaves me with paying to get the sidewalk raised every few years or just moving--which is unconscionable in this housing market. My house is bought and paid for.
If anyone has any creative engineering ideas that could possibly solve or mitigate this problem, I'm all ears.

I don't buy the artesian well hypothesis. I often hear when someone can't figure out where groundwater is coming from, they say "it's a spring." It never is. I also don't understand how this bit of water on the sidewalk escalates to moving or even raising the sidewalk.

This may sound silly but has anyone dug a hole in the grassy area by the sidewalk where the puddle is the deepest? I would cut out a 2’ or 3’ square area (save the grass) and dig down to see what the heck is down there and if it’s a pool of water underground.

@3onthetree Because I'm responsible for the sidewalk and if I let it continue to sink and someone gets hurt, I could be held liable. But I don't want to pay to raise or replace it if the root cause isn't resolved because it'll just sink again. And that's where the township is being unhelpful.

@Anna Devane Not so simple. There are utility lines nearby so I can't just do that. The township made that clear. I think I am going to contact a company that specializes in French drains to see if they have any ideas.

Strip the grass between the walk and the street.

Remove an inch or two of soil to make a shallow swale.

Replace the grass.

The water will either drain into the street, or get caught in the grass. Either way it is off the walk, which seems to be the goal.

A French drain isn't going to get you anywhere since the problem is too much water beneath the surface. Ideally, you want to get that water into the street, but municipalities sometimes frown on that basic idea.

Our neighbors were able to run a pipe from their pool pump to the street, going underground, under the sidewalk, and through a hole in the curb to the street (circled in the photo).

Perhaps you could do something similar, with drain tile between the sidewalk and the curb.