Your water main line delivers water to your home from the city’s public water supply. It’s usually underground and it runs beneath your yard. Obviously, your water main is very important. After all, it supplies you with all the water you use every day. Imagine if it broke!

When your water main breaks, it could bring your life to a screeching halt and inflict terrible damage in the process. You don’t want that to happen. To make sure it doesn’t, you should pay attention to warning signs like these. Spotting these problems now could save you a lot of time and money later. If you notice any of these issues, it might be time to replace or repair your water main:

Your plumbing clogs a lot more than usual.

There’s no getting around it: everybody’s drains clog sometimes. When you have a clog, it’s probably because there’s something inside your drain that isn’t supposed to be there. No big deal. When multiple drains seem to clog all the time, however, then you have a more significant problem.

If several drains clog up more often than they should, the problem may be deeper than the drains themselves. If there’s a clog further down in the water main line, for instance, it would restrict flow to all pipes. When your water isn’t running as effectively as it should, clogs happen more easily.

Your whole house has low water pressure.

Water pressure problems are a little like clog problems. If you experience water pressure problems in one fixture, then the fixture is probably the problem. If you can’t get enough water pressure in any fixtures, however, then you have a more serious problem. Home-wide clogs and water pressure problems often stem from the same source: a clog in the water main.

When your water main clogs, your home’s water has to work hard to push past it. In the process, it wastes a lot of the pressure that should be headed up to your home! Water pressure problems might mean a clog, but they could also mean something more serious… like a leak.

You suddenly have pest problems.

Pests love moisture and humidity more than they love just about anything else. If pests start flocking to your home, it may be because your water main is leaking. When your water main leaks, all the water it wastes inevitably ends up somewhere else. Somewhere you don’t want it, of course.

Leaking water might seep into the ground in your yard, pool around your foundation, or even form puddles inside. Wherever the water goes, pests will find it and start using it. Pest infestations don’t necessarily mean you have water main problems, but they’re a telltale symptom. If you have some of the other symptoms on this list, then you almost certainly have a problem.

There’s water pooling in your yard.

If you notice pools of water or particularly lush patches of grass in your yard, then your grass is getting too much water. When there’s too much water in soil, plants can’t absorb it and it forms puddles or mud. If too much water seeps into some patches of lawn, the grass in those patches will turn very green.

The extra water in your lawn could be coming from your water main. If your main starts leaking, water will seep from it into the soil around your yard. That water will either soak into your grass or pool and form puddles. If you notice a lot of excess water in your yard, then the leak could be significant. Fix it right away!

Your water comes out discolored.

Breaks in your water main don’t just let water out–they let contaminants in, too. As water flows past leaks, it brings dirt, debris, and heavy metals along with it. All of these contaminants could discolor your water or make it smell and taste strange. They might also be dangerous to drink or bathe in!

The general rule applies here again. If one fixture produces discolored water, then it’s probably a problem with the fixture. If all your water is discolored, then it’s probably the main itself. You don’t want to deal with dirty water any longer than you have to, trust us. If your water is discolored, do something about it right away. Nobody deserves rusty water.

Main water line problems are a big deal. Not only will they keep you from getting the water you need, but they could also lead to serious (and expensive!) damage.

If you think you have a water main line problem, don’t wait! Call Ben Franklin Plumbing right away. Our experts can identify and fix your problem the first time, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore.