What is a common standard practice for service line installations?

Ensuring a minimum burial depth is a critical standard practice for service line installations. This practice is essential for protecting the pipes from various environmental factors, such as freezing temperatures, ground movement, and potential damage from surface activities. By installing service lines at the correct depth, water service can remain reliable throughout the year and minimize the risk of leaks or bursts due to external pressures.

Additionally, adhering to the prescribed minimum burial depth helps meet local codes and regulations, which are designed to ensure public safety and maintain the integrity of water distribution systems. This strategy also takes into account potential future disturbances, such as excavation or landscaping, which could impact shallow installations.

Other practices, such as installing pipes at an angle, may not meet best practices for alignment and flow, while making connections without checks compromises system integrity and can lead to contamination. Using only 1-inch pipe could limit the capacity and utility of the service line. Hence, ensuring the proper burial depth remains the most critical and widely accepted practice for long-lasting and reliable service lines.