How Is Dry Utility Coordination Done on a Site Project?

The composite plan is the single drawing where every underground system appears together: joint trench with all dry conduits, gas main, water, sewer, storm drain, fire main, and irrigation. I build it at the same scale as the grading plan and I review it crossing by crossing — every place one system passes over or under another gets a vertical separation check against the governing standard. The most contested crossings are dry conduits over sewer (the sewer agency wants its pipe accessible and protected) and anything crossing the water main (health department separation rules apply). The composite plan also reserves the corridors permanently. Utility easements get dedicated on the final map or plat exactly where the composite plan shows them — wide enough for the trench plus working room, and recorded so a future owner cannot build over them. I dimension easements from the actual trench section, not from a rule of thumb, because a 10-foot easement over a 6-foot trench with deep power conduit leaves no room for a repair excavation.

The power company's service design drives the electrical side of the site. I provide the building load, the site plan, and the desired service location; the power company returns its design showing the primary extension, transformer size and location, and metering requirements. My job is to make the site accept that design: a level transformer pad with the required clearances, a conduit path from the property line to the pad that the trenching can actually build, and metering locations coordinated with the building's electrical room. Transformer placement deserves its own review pass. I check working clearances per the power company's standard, vehicle protection with bollards where traffic passes, screening per the city's landscape or design standards, drainage (transformers do not sit in ponding areas), and noise — a humming transformer outside a bedroom window or a patio is a complaint the owner inherits. Pad-mounted gear near accessible routes must also stay clear of the required walk widths.

Dry utility coordination is complete when it clears this checklist. The goal is one trench, one schedule, and no surprises in the ground. • Joint trench section compiled from every participating utility's depth and separation standards • Transformer and switchgear sited with utility access, clearances, and screening • Composite utility plan with every crossing checked for vertical separation • Utility easements dedicated on the map at widths that fit repair excavations • Each utility's extension cost responsibility confirmed in writing for the owner's budget