Main water line on private property - tips?

Hello everyone,

a main water pipeline runs through our property and also the neighboring property, which supplies the community with drinking water. The local water utility association has registered an easement for this, which was also known before purchasing the building plot.

Recently, this pipeline suffered damage and flooded a large part of our garden. Fortunately, we were on site to quickly notice and report the damage to prevent worse. Had we not noticed the damage, water would have flowed into our basement through a light well and flooded the house.
During the repair of the pipeline, the newly created garden was damaged by the excavator, but compensation has already been offered to me. During the repairs, the workers repeatedly mentioned that the installed material (PVC pipes) is outdated and that laying the main water pipeline on private property is not practical. Furthermore, a repair was already necessary 5 years ago due to a pipe break, only a few meters from the currently broken spot.

We now fear that this problem will concern us repeatedly and that eventually not just a few square meters of lawn will be lost, but significant damage to the house and garage may occur. I will now seek a conversation with the responsible association to see what I can achieve or whether a relocation is even possible (although I find that hard to imagine given the costs involved).

Has anyone perhaps had a similar case or can give us tips for the negotiations? I understand that we consciously bought the property with the easement and knowledge of the pipeline (in 2010). However, that it had already broken once before our construction project (start of construction 2016) and was only patched with PVC pipes was not disclosed to us.
I am grateful for any tips! :-)

Hello

why are PVC pipes (which ones?) no longer up to date.
You should find out why the installed pipes are not suitable. and what the alternative would be. There is certainly a DIN standard for that. If it is met, you are unlikely to succeed.

Steven

According to the workers, the pipes have long been laid in PE because it is more durable and longer lasting. PVC is therefore simply obsolete. Damaged PVC pipes are still repaired with PVC. Thank you for your tip!

because more resistant and longer-lasting.

Wellwellwell... "Skilled worker" statement... In fact, PVC has been used in public drinking water supply for well over 80 years, polyethylene only really took off in the early 70s, and that with the first, still rather crumbly generation. So longer-lasting is nonsense. More resistant? The notch impact strength of PE is higher, otherwise PVC also mostly has the edge in terms of mechanical properties, especially in tensile modulus. So also rather nonsense. The main reason why PE is used today: it is used for gas and water, PVC plays no role in gas supply because until the 80s almost exclusively steel was used, and since then everything in the relevant pressure ranges is PE. Volume determines price and margin, and a water-only material loses out there. Purely in terms of mechanical properties and creep behavior PVC is at least equal to PE, rather superior. Back2Topic:

We now fear that this problem will keep troubling us repeatedly and eventually not only a few square meters of lawn will be damaged, but also major damage to the house and garage will occur.

For which the network operator will pay again. Where is your problem?

Also, a repair was already necessary 5 years ago due to a pipe break, which was only a few meters away from the currently burst spot.

Then all red lights in the network operator’s event data recording should have already gone off.

I will now seek discussion with the responsible association and see what I can achieve or whether a relocation is even an option (although I find that hard to imagine given the resulting costs).

I wouldn’t actively bring up relocation. Otherwise, they might get the idea that you don’t like the thing there and deliberately leave it until you pay for the relocation (polluter pays principle). The line is secured in rem. Better to point to the damage statistics.

patched again only with PVC pipes

See above. “Again only PVC” is definitely not a quality defect here.

Even though for us it was only a "simple" water damage due to a leak in the house: that someone else pays and therefore one shouldn't have a problem with it, I cannot agree to that afterwards.

Aside from the question of whether the causality and the damage are recognized, the homeowner has the water in their house, the effort of drying, the problem of getting all the necessary craftsmen, possibly damaged and (temporarily) irreplaceable household items, and above all the noise caused by such drying over weeks.

should not have any problem with it

Of course, a burst pipe is always annoying and involves efforts beyond the monetary aspect. At least with the house installation, the extent of damage can be well limited in case of occurrence by means of a water stop.
Such self-initiated measures are mostly excluded with a public supply line; however, the line did not come out of the blue, nor is a risk assessment based on damage statistics from the WVU a particular witchcraft.
Our neighbors across the street have independently laid extra drainage pipes between the main line and the house. I consider that now to be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and, in the worst case, not sufficiently dimensioned, but it is also a kind of risk control in itself.