Why Can't Plumbing Be Like Super Mario?

Today I helped my dad dig up two bushes from our front yard. We packed the root balls in blankets and carted them to the backyard along with several wheelbarrow-fulls of topsoil. Why? There is a leak somewhere between the house and the curb. There is no way of telling where it is from the surface, so the plumber is coming tomorrow to dig up the front yard until he finds it. Well we got the bushes out of harm's way. How bad can this be? Check in tomorrow to find out.