How important is utility plan management to your land development project?
If you get your utilities perfect, no one will notice. But get them wrong, and your project could face significant cost overruns, time delays, and regulatory compliance challenges.
The bottom line? You need to get your wet and dry utilities right the first time. These essential services have to be impeccably integrated into your project plan and perfectly executed.
At RLM, we’re here to ensure you get this part right the first time.
It starts with the basics, and in this post, we’ll discuss those basics in context.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- What Are Wet And Dry Utilities?
- What Do You Need To Know About Utility Plan Management And Project Integration?
- Where Can You Go For More Information, Expertise, And Professional Advice?
Ready? Then let’s get started.
What Are Wet And Dry Utilities?
Wet utilities include the potable water supply, sanitary sewer, and stormwater drainage systems.
Here’s what you need to consider from a real estate development and infrastructure construction perspective:
- Sanitary Sewer—Refers to the sewage pipelines and systems that carry wastewater from a property ultimately to a wastewater treatment plant. It includes sewer mains, manholes, clean-outs, and service laterals.
- Drinking (Potable) Water Supply—Includes the installation of water mains, valves, shut-offs, fire hydrants, meters, and domestic water services to a property.
- Stormwater Drainage—This system handles surface runoff from precipitation and diverts it in storm sewers to prevent flooding and property damage. Infrastructure includes storm gutters, sewers, pipelines, clean-outs, catch basins, retention ponds, and more.
Phoenix.gov gives some perspective to the scale of Phoenix-area water provisioning:
More than 6,000 miles of interconnected water pipes deliver about 264 million gallons of water daily to Phoenix customers. Deliveries are adjusted monthly to meet customer demands. Deliveries vary depending on a variety of issues including weather, tourism, and other consumer needs.
We’ll help you navigate that expansive water distribution network to the last mile of your project.
What about dry utilities?
Dry utilities refer to the companies and utilities that supply electric power, natural gas, telecommunications, and broadband to your development.
You’ll need an expert who understands the logistics of Phoenix-area utilities to manage the planning and construction phases of all dry utilities:
- Electric—Includes the installation of electric mains, transformers, service laterals, and individual property meters.
- Telecommunications—Encompasses the installation and provisioning of telephone, cable, and internet services to your development, including all associated common infrastructure (switches, routers, signal boosters, etc.)
- Gas—The infrastructure system that carries natural gas to your development. This includes gas mains, service laterals, and meters.
Dry utility cables, conduits, and pipelines are usually colocated in a joint trench, like the utility trench shown below.
Typical Common Dry Utility Trench-Courtesy of Tacoma Public Utilities
So What Do You Need To Know About Utilities Planning And Integration?
Utilities are your project’s critical infrastructure. So you need to plan and execute your utility construction with precision and expertise.
There are several essential phases, with each phase consisting of several individual processes, in utility planning. These phases range from municipal annexation, to planning and construction, to final sign-off, certificate of occupancy, and final service delivery and maintenance.
The different phases of utility service planning and delivery comprise a workflow that spans all applicable government agencies, commissions, public utilities, and private companies responsible for the design, approval, and construction process.
You’ll be primarily concerned with your project’s utility infrastructure phase. This phase includes the design, approval, and delivery of all utility infrastructure, up to final service delivery.
The important thing to remember is that utility planning and construction need to be tightly integrated with your overarching development project.
That takes expertise and intimate knowledge of the people, agencies, public and private utility companies, processes, and timelines surrounding utility management.
Let’s make sure you get this part right.
Where Can You Go For More Information, Expertise, And Professional Advice?
That’s the easy part, you’re already in the right place.
We’re here to help you generate a utility management plan for your next project.
The world of Phoenix-area real estate development is constantly changing, and you need a partner with the experience and knowledge to keep pace. That partner is RLM.
You can expect knowledge, innovation, experience, excellence, and full transparency when you engage with the team at RLM.
Could you use a trusted partner with 25+ years of experience in Phoenix-area land development as you plan your next project?
Maybe you just have some questions?
Call us at 623-203-9475 or get in touch with our team online today.