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Carroll County, Maryland, Water Leaks . . . Fact or Fiction?

The key question is "My pipes have holes in them . . . do yours ? If yes, please read and heed !"

Copper tubing in many Carroll County homes are developing "pin hole leaks" or acid holes that leak water all over your house. Mine started in May 2000.

So far the Carroll County Public Works Department tells us there is a problem and they do not know the source of the problem. They told me they were conducting more tests and awaiting test results! So I had faith and waited for almost nine months for the results of tests to the water and pipes . . .

"Let's wait for results before we can judge the cause(s)"

what is causing us to have these water leaks. My test and water expert points to the water supply coming into the house.

Meanwhile, you need to watch for green spots to appear on the copper tubing that carries water around your house. It is prevalent in cold water pipes that run horizontal to the ground.

If you cut into section of the copper tubing where green spots appear, you will see deposits on the interior of your pipe and the pipe walls are thin. This is an area where the tubing is corroding and can cause substantial leaks. Once it gets going, it will not stop by itself.

"My plumber" has checked all my pipes and has had to replace ALL the copper tubing that he could reach. Some pipes go under ground to kitchen fixtures and these pipes cannot be replaced without major excavations/digging to remove and replace them. THIS IS COSTLY.

So far . . . I have spent almost one thousand dollars for replacement of the tubing with pin hole leaks. This is costly in my book. The replacement of buried pipes will cost me several thousand dollars more.

One recommendation is to get water treatment equipment installed at the small cost of $1,200.00 with monthly expenditures for treatment material and periodic replacement of a $300.00 pump used in the process. A holding tank also has to be refilled every couple of months.The company installing this system will not guarantee this to fix your problem. A few months later the leaks could continue and you have spent all this money for nothing. On second thought, what are we paying the county taxes for . . . ? We have water treatment plants that are suppose to safeguard our water.

I am on pins and needles waiting for the next leaks and further water damage to be caused by this problem. I am especially afraid of the flooding water in my basement. It is coming my way!

* Are we paying for city water that is giving us this kind of problem? Not only do we need to pay for it monthly but we just started PAYING MUCH MORE in March 2001. I am paying an increase of over 50% and if they fix pipes it will increase more.

What will happen to the copper pipes from the street to the house? Who will pay for problems with it? Ask your county officials for answers to all of these questions NOW.

Do not let them off the hook . . . pressure them for answers. It is your tax dollars at work here . . . or do you enjoy giving it away. I DO NOT.

Let me know if you want more on this and other Carroll County problems on this site.

Send comments to Frenchie

If this pin hole process cannot be stopped . . . then do we revert back to using well water ??

When will we be told of the extent of the damage and how and when we can stop this problem in our homes ??

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Here is a non answer received from Carroll County Government to this home page pipe leak issue received via E-mail on March 19, 2001:

Subject: FW: WHAT NOW...wait more ????
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 09:57:21 -0500
From: "Lewns, Wayne E"
To: "'mailto:nwchaus@earthlink.net'"
CC: "Horst, Gary L"

""Norbert W. Chausse, a.k.a. "FRENCHIE"

Mr. Frenchie , Please accept my apologies for a late response, this has been a long and drawn out project with still no definite conclusion to the problem,we had a consultant analyze the problem and based on his recommendation we are currently injecting 2.5 to 3 mg/l of Zink Orthophosphate into our distribution system. This for the time being appears to have slowed down the number of complaints ; however , we are continuing to stay atop of the problem , currently Carroll Co. has joined W.S.S.C. task force in hopes of absorbing there expertise and findings, please be advised that this is a global problem with calls as far as Anchorage Alaska asking for advice and recommendations, it was determined that a final solution may not be forthcomming within in the near future; however , we are hopeful and seem to be witnesing some improvement."" Thank You http://www.carr.org/

This E-mail response says, do not look for an answer from your local government. It pawns off the problem to the rest of the world as if this means a whole lot to county residences getting basements flooded! Believe me, there is a local answer to the problem . . . it will not come from Alaska.

The Freedom Banner and the Baltimore Sun both covered this as a major Carroll County problem. The articles cover this situation in detail and cite that over 350 homes that already had this problem. "If it has not happened to you YET, be watchful for it to start."

Check out local, state and federal government links below for places to write or send e-mail. Get their attention NOW!

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The following Carroll County Government correspondence is a legal JOKE?

"Dear Citizens:

As many of you know, Carroll County Government along with many other jurisdictions in the stat and Nation have been investigating the issue of pinhole leaks associated with municipal water systems. There is a tremendous amount of data surrounding this issue, and many different conclusions have been reached.

The issue before the Board of County Commissioners, however, is the County's legal liability regarding financial claims associated with these leaks.

To date, it is our opinion and opinion of our insurance carrier that the evidence does not meet a standard sufficient to assign legal liability. Accordingly, Carroll County will not be able to assist homeowners in covering any costs relatedf to this issue.

We do, however, very much appreciate your support and understanding as we have gathered data and examined this issue. Sincerely, (the legal clowns) Julia W. gouge, Donald I. Dell, Robin B Frazier

Question to the clowns:

How can you claim not knowing the reason for the pinhole leaks AND yet claim no responsibility? If our Carroll County engineers point to Alaska for an answer (see above), and seem to admit not being smart enough to find the solution, then let's have a US Corp. of Engineers study to determine the cause of our problem. AFTER finding the cause, let us consider who is liable for fixing it. Do not simply raise your shoulders up in the air with a dumb question mark look on faces, point to the world around us, AND say it is not our fault . . . without any idea . . . so you say . . . as to what is causing the problem. WE ARE NOT COUNTRY BUMPKINS that will simply rool over and accept stupidity as the anwswer.