A leaking tap connection is not a common occurrence however, it does happen. Most of our customers first want to know “what is a tap connection”.
The leaking tap
The tap connection on the city water main is the valve that connects the property owners water main to the city water main. It serves as the on/off control in the event that a property owners water main has to be replaced.
Most often when a water main is leaking the repair is to be completed on the pipe itself and not the tap. In many cases if the tap is leaking and has to be replaced, the water main contractor is required to notify DEP and get a shut down of the city water main for the new tap installation.
A city water main shut down is required because the old tap may have to be extracted from the city main, if the tap is extracted while water was flowing in the city main, the entire street would flood with water. Once the city water main is shut down, it eliminates the possibility of any danger or flooding.
The DEP will install the new tap with a special tapping machine which drills a hole in the city main or in some cases they may be able to re-use the old hole in the city main.
Once the tap is installed the plumber will re-connect the water main and open the tap connection to feed water back in the home.
