8.3 Service Connections, Meters, Water Loss Control and Utility Locating

Anatomy of a Service Connection

Under OAR 333-061-0050(8), mains and the portion of the service from the main to the property line or meter are subject to OHA's construction standards. The piping beyond the meter is subject to the state plumbing code.

Installation Standards

• Use NSF/ANSI 61-certified materials for anything contacting drinking water. Mains, fittings and valves at community systems must meet AWWA or equivalent standards.
• Bed pipe in rock-free material, tamp select backfill around it, and provide at least 30 inches of cover.
• Install No. 18 AWG (minimum) solid copper tracer wire with blue insulation on plastic pipe, with wire ends accessible in meter boxes, valve boxes or casings.
• Restrain bends, tees, plugs and hydrants against movement.

Tapping

A wet tap connects a new service or main to a pressurized main without an outage. The crew installs the saddle or tapping sleeve and corporation stop (or tapping valve), bolts on a tapping machine, cuts the hole through the valve, retracts the cutter and coupon, and closes the valve. The coupon is recovered and the work site is disinfected. Dry taps on out-of-service mains still require disinfection and flushing before use.

Lead Service Line Inventories

Since October 16, 2024, every community and NTNC system must keep an inventory classifying each service line, utility side and customer side, as lead, galvanized requiring replacement, non-lead or unknown. Customers with lead, GRR or unknown lines must be notified. Under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, a baseline inventory and replacement plan are due by November 1, 2027, and replacement must generally be complete by the end of 2037. Field crews document line materials whenever they expose a service.

Water Meters

Mechanical meters wear and usually under-register, especially at low flows such as toilet leaks. Utilities test and replace meters on a schedule based on size, age and accumulated volume. AMR (automatic meter reading) collects reads by drive-by radio. AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) adds two-way fixed networks that can flag continuous-flow leaks and backflow events.

Water Loss Control: The AWWA Water Balance

The AWWA M36 method accounts for every gallon entering the system:

• System input volume = authorized consumption + water losses
• Authorized consumption = billed (metered and unmetered) + unbilled (hydrant flushing, firefighting, utility use)
• Water losses
  • Apparent losses: customer meter under-registration, data handling errors, unauthorized consumption
  • Real losses: leakage on mains and services, and storage tank leaks and overflows
• Non-revenue water (NRW) = unbilled authorized consumption + apparent losses + real losses = system input − billed authorized consumption

Worked example

A system's input is 1,200 MG per year. Billed authorized consumption is 1,020 MG, and unbilled authorized use (flushing and firefighting) is 18 MG.

• NRW = 1,200 − 1,020 = 180 MG (15 percent of input)
• Water losses = 180 − 18 = 162 MG (13.5 percent)

Apparent losses are fixed with meter testing and billing audits. Real losses are cut by active leak detection (acoustic listening, leak-noise correlators and loggers, step testing at night), faster repairs, pressure management (less pressure means less leakage) and main replacement.

Locating Before You Dig

Oregon's one-call law requires excavators to notify the Oregon Utility Notification Center by calling 811 at least two full business days before digging. Operators who own buried facilities must respond by marking them. Standard APWA marking colors:

Locating methods include direct connection of a transmitter to tracer wire or metallic pipe, inductive sweeps, and records or GIS checks. Nonmetallic pipe without tracer wire is the hardest to find, which is why OHA requires tracer wire. Hand-dig or use vacuum excavation within the tolerance zone around marks, and keep maps and GIS current after every repair or installation.