An 1852 rail town with generations of buried pipe
Zionsville was platted in 1852 along the Lafayette & Indianapolis Railroad line that William Zion convinced founder Elijah Cross to route through the Eagle Creek valley, and the brick-paved Main Street that survives from that era sits above water and sewer lines that have been extended, patched, and replaced in stages ever since. Homes near the historic Village core were plumbed long after they were built, and a repiping or fixture job there often uncovers two or three generations of supply line before reaching the wall.
New subdivisions west of the Village bring a different problem
Zionsville's newer subdivisions west and south of the brick Main Street sit on Boone County's glacial-till ground and were plumbed to modern code in a single pass, so the work there is less about tracing old pipe and more about pressure, fixture count, and getting supply lines correctly sized for larger homes from day one.