Underground Conduit and Water mains

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muhandas

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Minimum cover for underground installations is covered in Article 300.5. However, consider the situation where a water main is laid parallel to the conduit but above it to some extent.
Question 1, is this permitted by the Code? If yes, Question 2, what is the minimum required distance between the water main and the conduit?
Question 3, may the Water main be contained within the fill distance required by 300.5? Question 4, What other factors need to be considered in context of the Code? Please provide Article references.
By the way, this is a real situation, not a hypothetical.
Would appreciate any help.
Regards and many thanks,
Heinz
 
Re: Underground Conduit and Water mains

There are no considerations. Provide the proper burial depth for the raceway and your complaint. It does not matter if there are any other piping systems or raceways in the same trench above, below, or next to the electrical raceway(s).
 
Re: Underground Conduit and Water mains

Bryan: I think you meant there are no CODE considerations. :D

The one consideration you should consider is maintenance. What happens if the water main breaks, and it has to be dug up? If the electrical run is too close, they may hit the electrical.

And if something goes wrong in the conduit, and they have to dig that up, it will be almost impossible to get to without cutting the water main.

Granted, the odds of having to dig either one up are slim.

Steve
 
Re: Underground Conduit and Water mains

Thanks Bryan and Steve.
Steve:
I came across this situation while looking at a trench for the conduit that was considerably deeper than it needed to be. When I asked about it I was told that the trench would also be used for a water main (not yet installed when I looked at it). My thoughts were like yours, Steve, but I couldn't come up with a separation distance number or a Code reference, so I signed off on the installation without comment but it nagged at me. Thus, the question.
Thanks a lot, as usual you've both been helpful.
Heinz
 
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