I found a flat, white wire sticking out of the ground in my backyard, and it looks like it's been cut. Each end of the wire goes back underground, but it doesn't seem to connect to anything particular since it's quite far from my shed. I'm located in the northeast USA, and I'm curious if anyone has ideas about what this could be or what it was used for. I posted an image for reference.
3 Answers
Could it possibly be a signal wire for a water or gas line? Sometimes those are put in for safety reasons. Just a thought!
You might want to check if the wire has any power by using a multimeter. It could give you some insight into what it's for. If there's no current, that might mean it's just an old line that's no longer needed.
I did wait to check until my husband got home, but it seems like it might not have any current.
It's tough to say without seeing more of the setup, but the wire looks like standard 12/2 gauge. Could it be connected to anything like lights or pumps nearby? If not, it might just be leftover from something that got replaced or taken down, and they didn't bother pulling the whole thing out.
As far as I know, there aren’t any lights or outlets in the direction it leads. It just disappears into the ground along the fence, and there's nothing around except grass. It’s really puzzling! I’ll definitely check with my husband on that multimeter.

That's an interesting idea! I’ll look into it, but it still doesn’t seem to have any current.