(A) Location of various utilities shall be as dictated by the town and as described in this section. Extension of existing utilities within the same street shall match the location of existing utilities in other blocks of that same street as much as possible.
(1) Sewer mains shall generally be located on the low side of the street, with manholes located five feet from the street centerline. Sewer mains shall not be placed such that manholes interfere with survey monuments. In areas of new construction, the sewer mains shall be the first utility to be constructed.
(2) Unless otherwise directed by the town, in areas of new construction, the following utilities shall be located, each in a separate trench, on the north and west sides of the street the following distances inside of the right-of-way line:
(a) Communications - one foot;
(b) Power (also municipal use intranet fiber) - eight feet;
(c) Water - 20 feet for 86 feet or wider right-of-way, and 15 feet for 66 feet right-of-way.
(B) Unless otherwise directed by the town, in areas of new construction, gas pipelines shall be located on the south and east sides of the street at a distance 14 feet (or alternately 24 feet) inside of the right-of-way line.
(1) Municipal use intranet fiber communication lines may be placed in the same trench with metallic communication lines or in the same trench with gas pipelines. In the case of joint trenching with other utilities, the fiber lines shall be placed 6"-12" below other communication cables or 6"-12" above gas pipelines.
(2) When the specified locations cannot be achieved, the town may consider alternate locations. However, in all cases, the following minimum separations between utilities shall be maintained:
(a) Water - ten foot horizontal separation from gravity sewer mains and 18 inches higher at crossings. Additional restrictions apply for pump discharge sewer mains and other special cases.
(b) Gas - three foot horizontal separation from any potential source of ignition, such as power or metallic communication cable.
(c) Power - five foot horizontal separation from water or sewer mains, one foot horizontal separation and six inch vertical separation from communication cables, which shall be higher than the power cables.
(C) Half or partial easements may only be approved where written commitment of dedication of additional easements necessary to complete the full easement are on record.
(D) All easements shall be in accordance with those approved by the town and the utility providers concerned. The following standard easements centered on the utility line are required:
(1) Sewer - 25 feet.
(2) Power - 25 feet.
(3) Water - 10 feet.
(4) Gas - 10 feet.
(5) Communications - 10 feet.
(E) The following minimum and maximum depths shall be measured from the finished grade to the top of the utility pipeline or conduit:
(1) Water - 36" to 48".
(2) Gas - 36" to 48".
(3) Power - (Primary) 42" to 60".
(4) Power - (Secondary) 32" to 48".
(5) Communications - 18" to 30".
(F) Color coding for all utility pipelines, cables and conduits shall be as follows:
(1) Power-red, or black w/ red stripe.
(2) Water-blue or ductile iron.
(3) Sewer-green, white or ductile iron.
(4) Gas-yellow.
(5) Reuse water-purple.
(6) Communication-orange conduit or std. cable.
(G) Marking tape shall be installed in the trench along all utility pipelines, cables and conduits.
(1) The marking tape color shall follow the same color code as required above for the conduits.
(2) In addition, the marking tape shall have stenciled along the tape the type of utility (power, water, and the like) at intervals not to exceed five feet.
(3) On sewer lines the tape shall be placed 18 inches above the top of the pipe.
(4) On all other utilities it shall be placed 18 inches below the finished surface.
(H) Tracer wire.
(1) Tracer wire shall be installed on all water, gas, and reuse water pipelines and on plastic conduits for non-metallic cables (such as fiber). The tracer wire shall be insulated, solid copper cable, not less than 14 gauge. It shall be installed by being pulled tight along the bottom of the pipe or conduit. It shall extend up to all hydrants, valves and pull-boxes. It shall be pig-tailed, not looped.
(2) Tracer wire ends shall be spliced together with wire nuts, or equal. Prior to installation of the nut, a minimum amount of wire shall be bared and twisted together with pliers to assure good contact. The entire spliced assembly shall then be protected with grease caps of a type approved by the town. The completed pig-tail shall extend out of the valve or pull-box 4"-6".
(3) The Contractor shall be responsible for the satisfactory performance of the tracing wire for its intended use, which shall be demonstrated prior to installation of surface improvements.
(Ord. 2017-02, passed 11-13-2017; Am. Ord. 2021-22, passed 12-13-2021)