On Mar 11, 2:53*pm, "robb" wrote:
"robb" *wrote in message

...

[recap of OP]
Problem 1.
Faucet water runs red/brown (think red clay) about 10 minutes after
tree service drives their (big) crane truck across *corner of yard
to the driveway.

Problem 2:
So now i want to find some proof evidence the water *line is
broken/cracked *or not.

Thanks to all of your responses on the water problem.

What came to pass....
I collected several cups of the red/brown water. I showed it to the
workers and they say , "not our problem" (suspiciously dismissive).
I contacted tree service manager about the water going red *15 minutes
after the crane pulled in driveway.

They sent someone out to look. Showed him the water and ran some out
of the tap. Also pointed out that the sinks, tubs and toilets do not
have rust stains so this is not an on going problem. He admitted that
sometimes the workers will do things like drop the crane hook/ball
weight, run over meters or even drop trunks on yard etc but he looked
all over the area and did not see any evidence of this.

A neighbor had informed me that *the "fold out crane boom" bumped a
large (60 ft) oak that happens to be growing close to the water line
run. The tree guy said either the truck or bumping the tree could have
shaken the line enough to loosen some rust in the line.

He suggested running water for a while to see if it clears up, and to
keep watch for water springing up out of yard or running back *into
the meter box.

We also *learned from city service that the static water pressure can
be any where from 35 - 80 psi and that we have a low pressure service
water meter *installed on our municipal water line because we have the
older iron pipes. If we want high pressure meter service we need to
replace our home service line with *an approved high pressure line.

Conclusion .....
Water cleared up after running for about 20 minutes continuous and we
have not seen any more discoloration nor signs of leaks in the yard.
The water pressure is stable and within acceptable range though on the
low side.

Thanks again for your advice and help,
robb

I'd definitely read the meter and see if it moves at all with all
water usage
off. Could do it overnight. That of course assumes the meter is
before
the line in question.

As to who's responsible, I think the answer is it depends. If this
were in
the north, that line should be below the frost line and it seems very
unlikely that driving a crane over it would cause a pipe that is in
reasonable condition to fail. If it did, then I'd say it's the crane
companies
fault. On the other hand, if it's an old iron pipe that's clearly
badly
deteriorated and was only buried a foot deep, then it's not as clear.
Also, these companies frequently have contract terms that you must
agree to and sign that relieve them of responsibility for any such
damage that occurs.