How should the utility account for road repair involved in maintenance and replacement of utility infrastructure?
Water and sewer main replacement should be coordinated with planned road replacement. Coordinated planning avoids the need to tear up newly constructed roadway to repair water main leaks that were perhaps caused by the vibration from the heavy equipment that installed the road. Municipal managers should recognize the efficiency of coordinated planning of utility and road infrastructure. The question of whether the cost of road repair should be paid by the water utility or by the street department of each community is not easily answered. In general, the cost-causer should pay for road repair. For water main leaks, the general practice is that the road repair is paid for by the water utility as a maintenance expense, not a capital addition. In this case, the causer pays the cost. If the underlying reason for the main leak is not addressed, more leaks will occur and in time the road is a patchwork of repairs that no longer maintains the integrity of the original construction. Who is the
