? on ditch for electric and water lines

[SnowRidge]

Power should be separate from anything else.

Phone and power in the same ditch are a good way to destroy computer equipment. The nimrod that previously owned our place ran a phone line extension in the same ditch as the shop power. Every time we had a lightning storm, we blew out at least one surge protector. Once we also lost a modem, an UPS, and a multi-function office printer. It was so bad that we had routinely disconnected the phone line at the first sign of thunder.

Once I figured out what had been done and cut that extension, we stopping having problems during lightning storms. We haven't lost anything due to lightning since.

 

[Ford850]

Rent the largest ditch witch you can, preferably a ride-on diesel model. the last one I used had a backhoe on it which was great to make my 'start' and 'finish' holes. You'll need a 36" ditch for the water, but most 3' machines can't hold that depth due to some backfill trickling in, etc. Get at least a 4' machine and you will have more power to move much faster when cutting 36". Cut a second ditch 24" for electric. I think 24" is pretty standard for a drop to a second building (from your house, right?). With a large machine you can cut both of those in a few hours. you can add the phone and cable lines above the water, and then add the tape towards the top as explained.