Whomp Whomp

What's the last thing you want to discover after tilling and reseeding your yard? Oh that's right... You have a water service line leak and potentially your front yard will need to be dug up. The service line leak has been confirmed by the 2 plumbers who came to give me estimates this afternoon. So much for my tax refund... and then some. The water service line is the pipe that goes from the meter to my house. Since the meter is at the curb, the service line runs from the curb to my house and according to the utility company... it's my responsibility. The plumbers say that the piping is probably just old and deteriorating. My guess is it's original to the house, which was built in the 50's. Hopefully they won't have to dig up my yard. They're going to try to pull the old pipe by digging a hole near the meter and near my house. There's a possibility that won't work, but I was told it does 95% of the time. Here's hoping!
The first plumber gave me an estimate that was about what I was expecting. The second plumber is checking with his supervisor about matching the first estimate. I guess if that's the case I'll be making my decision based on who can do it the soonest. Other thoughts I should consider?

My tips for people looking to buy a home... check the water meter to make sure it's not moving when the water isn't being used. It's doubtful that the home inspector will do this, especially if the meter is on the curb. If that little triangle is spinning, then there's a leak somewhere. I knew the leak wasn't inside the house b/c I shut off the water main and then checked the meter. It's also a good idea to know average water usage. Around 3000 gallons a month for a single family is a good estimate. Something is definitely up when a single, environmentally-conscious person who showers at the gym the majority of the time uses 17,000 gallons of water in a 90 day period!!! Yeah. That's pretty indicative of a serious leak.