Debris caused PRV to fail.

[NWh2o]

A guy I know tore down and old house and built a home 7 years ago. The water service from the city side was reused and all the plumbing for the new house is new including the PRV.

Recently the City came out and replaced the 30 year old 3/4" water meter. It only took them a few minutes to remove the old meter and put the new one in, they turned on the setter and purged a little air then flushed some water and from an outside hosebib.

After that there was a lot of water hammer and the pressure was high so he called the City. The City came out and checked everything out, they even put a pressure gauge on the hosebib and it read 100psi. They said there was nothing they could do since the problem was on the private side of the meter.

My buddy called a plumber and the plumber went through a few things then ended up replacing the PRV in the crawl space. The plumber said the PRV had dirt in it and that's why it failed and caused the water hammer.

I'm curious as to what caused the problem. Could it have been something on his side or is the City liable? How would I prove it? The plumber took the old PRV.

[Terry]

PRV valves only last so long.
I've never seen a good 30 YO PRV

Is there a poly or copper service to the home, or old galvanized.
With old galvanized piping, anytime you shut down the water and restart it, it can break up some junk inside the line.

If the city replaced the meter between the two nuts, it's a simple R&R. It doesn't get easier then that. Spin back two nuts, lift out meter, drop in new meter with new washer and snug up.

But again, if the meter was older then 10 years, it was going to need servicing at some point.

[NWh2o]

1" copper

My buddy said the plumbing report states that the plumber had brown water when he flushed the line after replacing the PRV yet the City didn't encounter dirty water when they went out.

Perhaps my buddy has a short galvy nipple connected just after the meter that is falling apart from the inside. I have a feeling he won't get squat from the City.

[jadnashua]

When the water is turned off, lines drained, then refilled, you nealy always dislodge some crud from the inside of the pipes. Normally, you only need to run a few gallons, but you need to do that through each branch in the house. If a bunch made it into the WH, you may have to run more through it to clear it up.

[Terry]

My buddy said the plumbing report states that the plumber had brown water when he flushed the line after replacing the PRV yet the City didn't encounter dirty water when they went out.

City of Bellevue?
You can always ask.
They could have gotten dirt in the line.

Copper in the ground?
That would be very unusual in Bellevue.
Homes in the 60's and older used galvanized.
Homes after that used Poly