(L to R) Merrell Saltsman, J.R. Coffey, and Mike Coomer get last minute directions from foreman Mitchel Owens upon leaving their Cave City, Ky., base. The maintenance crew for the Green River Valley Water District were off to fix a leaking water main.

Merrell Saltsman moves the backhoe into place to install a meter on a newly built house on the corner of Defriese Rd and Hwy. 1572 outside Camera, Ky. He's been with the company nine years.

J.R. Coffey makes his way towards a water main leak, spewing roughly 20 gallons per minute onto Park Street in Hiseville, Ky.

Mike Coomer rests on the bed of a pickup truck waiting for the natural gas company to arrive and locate their lines before breaking ground on a water main leak. The guys spent the previous couple days listening for line leaks late into the night and early morning as the company is losing significant amounts of water. J.R. Coffey and Merrell Saltsman, L to R in the background, talk with foreman Rodney Mills, rearview mirror.

The guys end the day washing off their equipment and trucks, occasionally faced with going right back out on a last minute call.

Joe Haskins, left, a mechanic for Green River Valley Water District, chats with maintenance worker J.R. Coffey, 38, of Edmondson early Wednesday morning at the local gas station.