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Minimum Construction Standards for Water/Sewer
Transmission Mains
Located Wholly or Partially in an Agricultural District
For Pipelines of Eight Inches or Greater Outer - Diameter
The following standards apply to those portions of water/sewer transmission mains measuring eight (8)
inches or more in outer-diameter, which are proposed for construction on agricultural land. The standards
focus on measures that minimize or mitigate the impacts on farmland from such pipeline
trenching/construction. The standards cover practical agricultural issues including: pipeline depth-of-
cover, topsoil protection, waste stone/rock materials, soil rutting and compaction, existing and future farm
drainage and other farm related facilities.
Pipeline Depth-of-Cover
Pipeline depth within the soil profile is important from the farming standpoint due to the permanence of a
pipe's position in the soil profile. Inappropriate depth of a water/sewer line will diminish current and future
farm operators' capacities to administer the scope of land-fitting practices required to meet specialized
cropping needs. Such practices can range from deep tillage to the installation of subsurface tile drain
lines.
From the pipeline operator's standpoint, appropriate depth-of-cover is essential for protection against
puncture from surface disturbance and against bursting due to frost penetration and freeze up. A common
minimum depth-of-cover employed in water/sewer pipelines is 4.5 feet.
Standard: In agricultural land, the minimum depth-of-cover from restored ground surface to top of
the buried pipe will be 4.0 feet. (See "Existing and Future Farm Drainage" regarding depth
adjustment.)
Topsoil Resource Protection
The topsoil layer of the soil profile is the fertile material needed for sustained crop productivity. Pipeline
construction of this size range is generally ongoing through completion, regardless of soil moisture
conditions, and can permanently alter the soil profile throughout the construction right-of-way.
The farm soils throughout New York State have only limited ability to recover from the concentrated
disturbances of pipeline right-of-way construction activity, due to a thin topsoil layer, humid climate and
correspondingly excessive soil moisture for most of the year. Farm soils must be protected against
degradation through the exercise of soil protection standards.
Standard: The full-width topsoil stripping practice should be employed over the construction
right-of-way:
The topsoil ("A" horizon) should be stripped down to the top of the subsoil zone for the
contiguous width of the construction work/traffic area, trench zone and trench spoil storage area.
The stripped topsoil should be segregated from all other materials in a segregated stockpile on
top of unstripped topsoil at the far edge of the construction right-of-way on the side opposite from
the trench and spoil side.