Think Outside the Vault: A True Story About Why Water Meters Should Be Above Ground

At Safe-T-Cover, we regularly talk about the importance of Thinking Outside the Vault and keeping waterworks equipment above ground and secured in an enclosure. This past spring, one of the members of our marketing team had an experience that perfectly speaks to this point.

Amy was working from her home in the southeast when a utility crew showed up as part of a fiber optic cable deployment in her neighborhood. Of course, this happened without any advance notice, and the digging and machinery disrupted her work. 

What started as a nuisance became a fully-fledged problem when she heard the workers begin cursing outside her home office window. She looked out the window and saw an in-ground vault flooding over. After the crew laid the cable, they pounded the sandy-gravel dirt common in that part of the country back into the newly-made trenches, only to break the neighbor’s water meter in the process. Water poured from her neighbor’s yard toward the vent coming from Amy’s crawlspace.

That crew doing the installation and deployment fled the scene without notifying anyone of the urgency of the situation.

The water utility confirmed the broken water meter situation, but because her neighbors weren’t home, a utility representative claimed they were unable to do anything on the neighbor’s land without their permission per local regulations. Water kept gushing from the damaged meter for over an hour.

Thankfully, there was no flooding in Amy’s crawlspace, a ridge just off the vent was just high enough off the ground to prevent intrusion. She called a disaster restoration outfit as a precaution; they advised that even in this type of situation, they wouldn’t be able to conduct their work, as it would damage their equipment in the attempt.

Amy was left with recesses in her yard, while her neighbor was left with a flooded vault, broken water meter and, in all likelihood, a hefty water bill!

This is precisely the kind of situation that can be avoided when you Think Outside the Vault and install waterworks equipment above ground and in an aluminum enclosure. Whether it’s worker negligence, weather phenomena or vandalism, sticking this kind of critical equipment in the ground is asking for trouble.

We help municipalities and utility companies develop above ground enclosure solutions that provide long-lasting protection and peace of mind for utilities and neighbors alike. Contact a member of the Safe-T-Cover team today to discuss retrofitting your waterworks infrastructure or developing a custom enclosure design for control panels, water meters, backflow enclosures, water pumps and other utility-related equipment!