Water line woes

It's a bad sign when the water line coming into your basement from the street always has damp concrete and sand around it - and the pipe is galvanized.  You hope and pray it is just condensation, but you are wrong.  You will have to put a new water line in from your house to the shut off in the boulevard - if you are lucky.  If not, you will need to replace the line all the way out to the center of the street which, in your case, also happens to be a highway so the paving is much thicker, the excavation more involved and street repair following the new water line hook up much more expensive.  But, it needs to be done so you forge ahead.  Your side yard gets dug up, a new water line gets put in to the shut off and, then, heaven smiles on you.  The pipe from the shut off into the middle of the street/highway has already been replaced by someone before you. Oh glorious day!!  You have just saved about $4000.  Never mind that you are still going to pay $5,000 for what you did have done, you feel like you have just won the lottery! A very bright spot in a long, stressful project - and, you have a brand new water line to boot.  Hooray for amazing water pressure and no more damp spots in the basement.