At the height of summer, Ellen and Jake Howard’s water bill almost doubled. Between irrigating the garden in the lower backyard and refilling the fountain pond up on the front patio, the Howards were starting to talk about moving to a condo.

A single outdoor water spigot on the side wall of the house served both fountain pond and vegetable patch, with two hoses, which Ellen and Jake swapped to perform each watering chore. A green garden hose stretched from the spigot, up the side of the house and into the fountain pond, where it disappeared below the waterlilies. Alternately, a black drip-irrigation hose ran from the spigot, down along the side of the house and into the backyard, where it wound through beds of tomatoes and squash. 

Ellen and Jake divided the watering chores. Early-riser Ellen started her day by replenishing the fountain pond, whose water level dropped by the height of two bricks daily. Later, Jake swapped the hoses at the spigot, to irrigate the vegetable beds while he ran a leisurely loop around the neighborhood.

When the tsunami-sized water bill arrived, Ellen and Jake compared notes. 

“I think there’s a leak in the fountain pond,” Ellen said. “The water level drops too quickly.”

Jake had a different theory. “The leak must be at the spigot,” he said. “The ground is always soggy there.”

When Kevin the plumber arrived to investigate, he found Ellen sitting by the fountain, watching the waterlilies slowly rise with the pond level. Jake, dressed for a run, joined them. No one could find any sign of a leak at the fountain pond. 

“Let’s check the spigot,” Kevin said.

They walked down to the hose bib, where Jake unthreaded the fountain-filling hose and hooked up the irrigation hose.

“No leak here either,” Kevin said, studying the spigot.

“That sucks,” Jake said. “I was hoping for a quick fix to the water bill that wouldn’t dry up the fountain or the garden.”

“Funny you should say that,” Kevin said as he stepped out of the mud around the spigot. “There is a quick fix that won’t deprive the garden or the fountain, but will also dry up this soggy patch.”

What is the plumber’s quick fix?

The Solution / SPOILER ALERT!

While Jake was unwittingly on the right path when he said, “That sucks,” it was actually gravity rather than suction that was emptying the fountain pond and making the lower ground soggy by the spigot.

There are some fixes, including adding a Y splitter that would cut off the fountain hose and keep it from draining while the garden hose runs.

Even quicker: Lift the end of the pond-feeding hose so that it remains above the water level and can’t siphon the liquid downhill.

Thank you for playing! Buttercup loves a mystery. Please share any riddles you stumble into in your real-life house and garden.