Meter Box Replacement
in Driveways and Landscaped Areas
The PUD is dedicated to maintaining safe, reliable and quality water service to all of our customers. This effort requires access to your water meter. Water meter boxes and meters are placed in public, right-of-way areas or in dedicated easements to ensure utilities have unobstructed access to maintain, repair, or replace their meter box infrastructure.
Frequently, right-of-way access and easements also contain portions of privately owned driveways. Occasionally, the presence of private driveways and landscaping restricts access to the water meter box and meter. In these instances, PUD Water personnel still need to have access to the water meter box and may need to perform maintenance or removal of landscaping to access the box.
Proper setup
PUD personnel need to maintain two (2) feet of clearance in either direction of the meter box. It is important that no objects be installed within this buffer. This includes trees and shrubbery (roots can grow through service lines and cause breaks and leaks), gravel, cement or any other fixture that would prohibit access to the meter box.
What to expect if there is an obstruction
The PUD has an obligation to provide water service to our customers and they, in turn, are legally required to provide clear access to their water meter box. If PUD personnel come across an obstructed water box, they will notify the customer and attempt repairs and maintenance to restore access. This can include: removing concrete and replacing with an asphalt patch, trimming or removal of trees including roots, or other work that may be needed to provide the necessary access to the meter box. If a temporary asphalt patch is needed, a permanent patch of either asphalt or concrete (matched to existing driveway material) will be placed within 180 days.
Examples of maintenance that could be performed include:
