At 5:30am you hear water before anything else. It is not a tank filling. It is a sheet coming off the roof, hitting the courtyard, and running to the drain you share with two houses. The motor is still on. The float has stuck open, or the ball has cracked and filled, and the pump is watering the lane.
That overflow is wasted supply. In a North Indian home the motor often sits on the same meter as the lights. Ten extra minutes of pumping, morning after morning, shows up on the cycle even if nobody quotes a slab. You paid to lift water that went straight back to the street.
Switch the motor off first. Then climb. A live overflow on a wet stair is how people slip.
Checks before you buy a new ball cock
Look at the float. A plastic ball that feels heavy is full of water and will never close. A bent arm jams on the tank wall. A valve that hisses and never seats may have grit in the washer from a sandy line after a tanker mix or a street repair.
Move the arm with the motor off. It should swing and seat firmly. If it grinds, the pin is worn. If it swings but water still runs, the washer is gone.
Check for a string. Someone may have tied the float up during a low-pressure week and forgotten. In joint families this happens after a wedding or a tanker fill.
Confirm overflow, not a crack. Overflow comes from the lid or the overflow pipe. A crack wets the side wall. Wipe, wait, watch.
If you have a sump and a roof tank, see which float failed. A dead sump float floods a pump room. A dead roof float waters the neighbour. The spare part looks similar. The mess is not.
If the motor vibrates hard while dumping, stop testing. Overflow and a thin suction can sit in the same week.
Photos that show overflow, not a mystery stain
Photograph the overflow pipe while it runs, if you can do it safely. Then photograph the float arm in daylight with the lid off. A wet courtyard alone is a weak story. You want the stuck ball in the frame.
Take a roof shot and a ground shot of water leaving the gate. If a society later claims you flooded the parking, those two photos on the same morning matter.
Photograph the timer setting if you use one. Overflow with the timer still on past the usual window means the float never closed. Overflow with the timer off means someone started the motor by hand and walked away.
Neighbour timing and who is filling first
Overflow fights start because one house’s waterfall lands on another house’s store. Ask when the lane actually gets pressure. If you start early, the float fails, and they wake to a lake, that is your morning.
Agree a rule on a shared pump: whoever starts the motor also stops it, or a timer stops it. A dead float plus a forgotten motor is the classic 6:30am courtyard lake.
If several houses share one overhead tank, put it in the group the same morning. Waiting until evening repeats the flood at the next hour.
In a small Rajasthan town the valve man may open a short window. If you dump through that window, pressure drops for the lane. People notice.
Complaint path when overflow hits the street
The board will not replace your ball cock. If water is on the public road, photograph your overflow pipe so you can show it was a private tank, then stop the motor. Do not leave a wet patch as proof for two days. Someone will slip.
If a society secretary blames your flat for a flooded basement, take dated photos. Ask for the common terrace float to be checked. Many colonies have a dead common float and four families accusing each other.
For a rented floor, tell the owner the same day. A new float is cheap next to a ruined ceiling. That path is household, then plumber, not the subdivision.
Helplines on the jal bill are for supply and public leaks. Use them if the street stays wet after you have stopped. Do not use them to ask for a float.
Approximate INR rates that change by ward
A basic plastic ball cock is often Rs 180 to Rs 450 in a small-town shop. A heavier brass-bodied valve may sit at Rs 350 to Rs 800. Prices jump in May.
A plumber to fit it on a roof may ask Rs 300 to Rs 900, more if the old valve is rust-seized. A mechanical timer is commonly Rs 400 to Rs 1,200. A dry-run or simple level switch fitted often sits around Rs 800 to Rs 2,500. In a house that overflows twice a week those parts are cheaper than a burned motor or a month of pumping into the drain.
Ward markets differ. Confirm at the counter. Voice-note rates in summer are often yesterday plus panic.
FAQ
Can I just watch the tank every morning instead of replacing the float?
Only if someone will stand on the roof for the whole fill. That fails the morning of a school exam or a guest. A new float is a small part. Fit it.
Why did the motor bill jump if the water is free from the line?
The line may be on a jal board connection. The pump that lifts it is on your meter. Overflow means the pump runs past the full mark. Stop the dump first. Talk about the bill after the roof is dry.
Should I tie the float down so the tank fills more?
Tying a float is how people flood the roof. More storage means a bigger tank, not a disabled valve. Disabling the float does not create pressure. It only removes the off switch.
The float is new and it still overflows. What now?
Check inlet height versus the float. Check for two inlets, a tanker hose left in the lid, or a second motor from a sump. A new valve cannot close a hose stuffed through the lid.
Short note
Paani Atka is not a jal board, not PHED, and not an electricity office. We do not fit valves or read meters. The rupee figures here are approximate and they change by ward and by summer. Confirm at the shop. Stop the motor when the tank weeps. Fit a float that closes. Add a timer if the house cannot stand watch at 5:30am. The waterfall in the courtyard is yesterday’s supply leaving before breakfast.