Mystery: Water valve unearthed in basement floor - what is it used for?

We just bought an old 1870s house and there was a round hole in the ground of the basement near the water meter. We dug it up a bit and found a water valve buried in the earth. The water appeared to be on as the meter was clearly running. However we have NO idea where this water is going. We turned the valve off, and we could hear the water shut off. The water meter stopped running in circles. However, despite the shut off, there is still water in the house… We noted that we had an incredibly high first water bill – $400\. I understand that water bills in 2 families usually run about $40-70. Why in the world would a water valve be buried in the basement floor? The water has been “running” for 2 months, thus accounting for our high water bill – but we have no idea where the water was going to. Any ideas? Who should we call to investigate? Thanks

anonCH

in About Brooklyn 11 years and 2 months ago

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Lurker | 11 years and 2 months ago

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I have same in basement–the original water shut-off valve is there. Did you let the water run on the top floor or lower floors to test it when valve is off? If the latter, you could just be getting water flowing from upper floors that was already in the pipes and runs out after a minute or two. Try leaving a faucet opn on top floor, turning off the water and waiting a minute or two. While renovating, our empty house with no leaks or water use was $125 or so a quarter water bills–they charge you a minimum amount no matter what. Log onto the DEP’s web site open an account for your home and you can see actual water usage, historic usage and bills, and a mess of other cool stuff. DEP https://a826-amr.nyc.gov/DEP_AMRReads/

bk1lnite | 11 years and 2 months ago

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My quarterly water bills for a single family are about $200; for an 8-family (1BR apts) about $900\. Your mileage may vary but $40-70 is not a typical bill.

resident2 | 11 years and 2 months ago

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Start by investigating it yourself. Turn it off; and then go around the whole house and see if any faucet, water fixture, garden hose pipe etc. does not work. If all is working then have a plumber come and permanently cut it off or just leave it turned off. And then listen to hear if any neighbor suddenly has a lack of water problem. The water and sewer rates have gone up and even if you only have two people flushing, showering, watering the garden occasionally etc. I would say $400.00 is not a high bill.

shahnandersen

in About Brooklyn 11 years and 2 months ago

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Have no idea where the valve is connected to, but a $400 quarterly (3 month) bill is not unusual. Where did you get the $40-$70 figure?