We are building a home in Texas and was wondering if you can bury the water and sewer pipes in the same ditch. If not how far apart do they have to be?

Hi Tammy,
Chapter 12, Section 1206.1 of The Standard Plumbing Code titled. " Water Supply and Distruibution" states, " The water service may be placed in the same trench as the building drain and sewer providing the following conditions are met:
(a) The bottom of the pipe of the water service pipe, at all points , shall be at least 12 inches above the sewer line at its highest point.
(b) The water service pipe shall be placed on a solid shelf exavated at one side of the common trench.
That's code in Florida, check with your local building department to check on Texas Code;.
Good luck, Tom

Tammy: when we work on new houses, we do put all utilities in one common trench. Sewer is the pipe that determined depth. Usually, new sewer exists house some 24"+ below the grade and then slopes gradually towards the street. As Tom correctly states, some separation between various utilities is required. We usually have backhoe to excavate one trench with 24" bucket. We lay sewer to the right and, water to the left. However, Inspectors usually let this detail slide.