September 14, 2008

Getting the lead out

Last year I had our tap water tested and we discovered that it contained more than twice the allowable limit of lead. That explained a lot about those members of the household who had been consuming tap water for the past few years. After an 11-month wait, I finally received a phone call informing me that the city was ready to send out some workers to replace the lead-filled water pipes leading to my house. Those workers arrived last Thursday and spent several hours cutting, digging and napping. Yes, I said napping.


Working hard or hardly working?


I was at home that day, so I was able to glance outside periodically to watch the progress of the workers. The nap took the longest amount of time, by far. I never did see any pipes. It wouldn't surprise me if the workers simply dug and filled two holes to make it appear as though they had replaced the pipes.


Am I growing cynical in my old age?


10 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is yellow and sleeps six?
A public works truck.

Romance said...

I totally need his job!!

amelia said...

That's too funny!

You should send this pic to his employer!

Heather said...

But they did the whole thing in one day? At our house they must have taken a really long nap because the whole process took from about April until sometime in August. Various holes were dug, filled in, dug, etc.

Rob K said...

He's meditating, so he only works now and Zen. (rimshot!)

alan said...

Another water test should tell you one way or the other.

Getting older tends to be the leading cause of cynicism!

alan

Rob K said...

Maybe you should call this guy...

http://www.worth1000.com/web/media/4004/art-carney-orig.jpg

Bibi Silver said...

So what happened when you re-tested? The fact that you have this pic is priceless -- and could theoretically prove that work was not actually completed ...

Calamity Jen said...

When I received the call about the results of our second test, I was told that our results were at the extreme high end of the "acceptable" limit and that, accordingly, the city would have to replace its pipes. I replied that the city had supposedly already done so, and that the pipes on our side of the property line had also been upgraded. The fellow wasn't sure how to respond, but he surmised that there must be lead solder connecting the pipes on our property. The end. Argh.

Bibi Silver said...

Did you send the picture of the city worker napping while on the supposed job? Did you mention that you never saw any pipes being replaced and that they should re-examine the site again? ;-)