Is there anyway to prevent extensive damage to my home from a water main break?
As a fellow New Yorker, here’s my take: Water main breaks are not that common, not when you consider just how many water mains exist in our city–easily hundreds of miles of pipes. If you are truly ground floor–meaning you step straight out onto the stree from your living room/hallway–you are relatively safe, because unless it’s an exceedingly rare monster break, the water is going to stay below street level, where the main exists. There are sizable tunnels down there and water always seeks the lowest level. If you live instead in an English basement–meaning you live in a brownstone or federal townhouse and walk down steps, well below street level, to get to your apartment–then I can understand a little anxiety about this hazard, as well as extremely heavy rain that could overwhelm your drain system. English basements normally have a drain built into the landing, usually near the threshold. However, water main breaks are really so rare, and the odds of one happening that affects yo
