RECENT COMMENTS
Looking for a map or info on natural springs in Church Hill
We’ve been experiencing a water leak issue in front of our home on East Broad for the better part of the past year. It’s a long story, but the short of it is that we’ve got the city water department stumped.
The leak is not coming from our city water, nor the sewer. The possibilities have been narrowed down and it’s looking like this might be an issue caused by a natural spring.
So, two questions. One, do you know if such an issue has cropped up in Church Hill before?
Secondly, sometime in the last year or so you published some historic maps of the Hill which showed how natural springs had been diverted in this area. Might I get access to that posting?
I didn’t publish those maps but would *love* to see them. Does anybody have any info?
***Proceed With Caution***
Check with the Elves that reside in Church Hill before messin’ with their magical ancient springs. Ask only to speak with their King “Hillrond”. You’ll know him by his “F The Orcs” tattoo, and the RVA sticker on his bow.
I know there are quite a few natural springs around here. There seems to be one (or more) behind Poe’s as the parking lot there is constantly wet. That one seems to be coming out of the hill directly behind Poe’s.
I think there’s another one down behind Libby Hill Park, as the gutter along Williamsburg Ave. coming into East Main sometimes stays wet, too. And there used to be one in Chimborazo Park, behind the park house, although I have not walked over there recently so it might be re-routed.
I’d be curious to see some maps that show the locations, too.
There are lots of springs, but what you might have is what is known as “perched” water caused by a impervious layer of clay 3′-5′ below grade.
When we dug the underground power lines to feed our house, we hit the gooiest, sticky red clay you’ll ever see. The dirt just above it was saturated with water. If you have a post hole digger, you might try digging done a few feet to see if you have the same clay we had on Libby Hill.
Richmond had a very wet season last year so your seepage may be a result of that.
Please send me your address. I’m actually headed to the city to look through the sewer/water line archives and will be looking over the old city maps in the next few days. I’d be happy to look up what may be around your house – 711renovate@gmail.com
Update… We are the people experiencing the water issue. The city tested the water and the results showed that the water is city water and not from a natural spring source. Also, we now believe that the map we’re looking for was published in the CHA newsletter and not on CHPN.
Which block of Broad are you located? My water bill (on the southside of the 2700 block) has been double what it should be for the past 2 periods & the City basically ignores my requests to check the meter.
There was a spring in the area of the southwest corner of East Marshall and North 31st Street (now an empty lot). The G.W. Baist Atlas of Richmond (1889) shows a creek running from that corner, southwest across the block to the corner of East Broad and North 30th.
MHB – check your meter when nothing is running to see if it’s still moving. If so, call the city & tell them you suspect the main line coming from the street is leaking. You’ll have to be persistant, but eventually they will have to. I had the same issue, talking $500 water bills for many, many months. Finally got them to admit it wasn’t MY leak, but theirs. They reimbursed me, although not nearly what I deserved. Good luck!
If your water bill has been double or more for no apparent reason, ask the city if the water meter has been replaced.
They are notorious for entering the wrong multiplication factor on the new electronic meters making it read up to 10 times the actual usage.
We discovered this on one of our rental properties and the City wrote a check for the difference going back almost 18 months.
Tricia… is there a online link to the maps you mentioned?
Bringing this back up – any maps online showing the springs?