mdh said:
BTW The water piping is copper so the ground wire also ties with-in 5 feet of the copper water piping system, that water company uses.
The water pipe electrode is required to be supplemented by one or more electrodes, so if there are no other electrodes present then a ground rod may be driven to meet this requirement. 250.53(D)(2).
If that ground rod is not 25 ohms to earth or less, then one more ground rod is required - from there, even if the pair of rods exceed 25Ω then no more are required to be driven.
the poco only requires 1 rod for a 200 amp or less 3 rods for 400 and above anyway I told him to show a code ref to support his want he could not as of friday
Well, ground rods are required to be driven below permanent moisture level (250.53(A)), but generally this requirement is largely ignored, IMO - usually, the rod is driven until it is flush, or perhaps an inch above grade for visibility for inspection (or perhaps a misguided belief that the connection must remain accessible). Permanent moisture could be a foot or two below grade.
If the inspector believed no moisture would be present below the driveway, then he would have a case for moving the rod.
However, I believe the earth immediately under that slab of driveway concrete would be below permanent moisture level, I find it hard to envision dry earth under that slab at any time, IMO.
If the foundation of a new building contains a concrete-encased electrode (CEE), then it (and all other electrodes present) must be used (250.50). If you have a CEE connected to the electrical system, then no ground rods are required to be driven, since the CEE is supplementing the water pipe ground. (I say this ignoring your power company's requirements, which are unique to your area, IMO.)
Hope that helps,