Tapping the Water Main

The utility sent a large crew, probably eight men, to tap the water main on the street and run a line to connect the house. It was an all-day job. They did a "wet tap", sometimes called a "hot tap", which allows the new pipe to be joined to the water main while the main remains under pressure and service does not need to be interrupted. A sleeve (shown below) and valve is installed on the main and then a tapping machine is used to open the main. Once tapped, the valve can be opened to allow water to flow to the house.