Water line easement -- why?

[Ken45101]

Our rural water company would like an easement to run a new line across the back of our property. (We already have service to the house on the other side of our property.) This new line would be supplying a nearby town where they bought the water company. It seems like no big deal, they will probably follow a 4wheeler trail I have in that area.

The water company guys says if we don't want it, no big deal, they will run the line on the other side of the road (steeper hillside).

Why should we give them a free easement ? Even if it's not a big deal, we still end up with granting access when necessary, minor inconvenience during the construction, etc.

Thoughts? Pro and con?

Thanks,

Ken

 

[LD1]

For you to get nothing out of the deal there is no incentive for you to let them.

Not sure how utility easements work. I think most of the time they are in the right of way of the road, and technically not your land. But still throw in a hefty discount on a tap for service. With the gas lines that don't follow the road, I think the gas company pays the land owners a little something.

I guess the only incentive for you may be a few cents off your bill. If going on your property is the easiest solution and you decline, it is going to cost more for them to run to the next town. And you can be sure that cost will be passes on to all of their customers

 

[txdon]

You get no benefit or compensation. They give you an option to refuse, I'd take the option.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

According to this short article, the value of the easement is at least the full fair market value of the area of the easement. How to Appraise a Value on a Property Easement | eHow

www.Zillow.com might be helpful for current market value.

"For free" would not happen on my property. I can hardly believe they suggested it.

 

[davesl708]

I wonder how long it will be before a road and more houses go along with the waterline. Land behind your property will be more valuable with a water supply close by.

You should get either a reduction in water cost or a property tax credit spread out over twenty years.

 

[HeLa]

we still end up with granting access when necessary, minor inconvenience during the construction, etc.

have friends with a similar situation and on more than one occasion the utility company has made a mess of his place going through there with equipment. it'll also be another issue to deal with as it runs with the land, if you ever sell the place. if there's really no incentive provided to allow it, let them dig on the other side of the street.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you are getting nothing in return for a messed up field, then tell them to stick with the roads. Why should you save them money when there is not benefit to you and in fact it will cause you some future work when the ditch backfill settles after a rain or two. That always happens when a ditch is dug, especially a narrow one where good compaction is not done. I spend some time putting dirt on a ditch way that runs across my property to supply water to my brother in law's house. Just about thru me off the tractor when mowing until I filled it in, then it took over a year for the grass to grow back on it.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I was on the board of our rural water system for 25 years. It was rare that we asked for an easement on private property.

I would suggest that you give them the easement and make sure that they fix your land back to the condition it's in before they do any construction. I'm sure they will do this anyway.

Granting the easement will help your neighbors to have cheaper water in the long run. And, there should never be a need to return to your property, but they need the easement in case of an emergency, such as a busted pipe. But, I seriously doubt that will ever happen.

 

[Walt 2002]

I did grant an easement along our farm ground with no benefit partly due to threat of extremely high connection fee if a connection was requested at some future date but don't think I would again though no problem so far.

Walt Conner

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

no pay-no easement, simple as that, at least at this stage in the game.

If it was vital they could force the easement on you as all utility companies can do.

 

[dodge man]

There are a couple of attitudes you can have. I work for a civil engineering firm and have written hundreds of easements over the years but have rarely been the one to get them signed. It can be tough.

1. First attitude. Whats in it for me? If there is nothing in it for me, why should I give it? Nothing wrong with this attitude at all.

2. Second attitude. This is probably a non profit public utility. They aren't really looking to make any money off the easement, its just the easy way to where they want to go, and you are saving them money to give them easement. If the easement is where it doesn't impact your ground, it probably won't hurt anything. On the other hand, if its in a location that might hurt your property value, such as a place a house might go someday, you should be compensated.

 

[MossRoad]

I'd be concerned that once they run an easement through, they can come back and run more utilities through the same easement. That's what's going on around here with petroleum pipelines. They just keep making the easements wider. Its a huge mess for the landowners.

Another thing you may be concerned about is their ability to annex you into a town or city. For example, they run water through an area and put conditions on your property zoning stating that if your well ever fails, you cannot dig a new one and have to connect to municipal water. That happens around here fairly often as well. And they put in stipulations that you won't fight annexation if it happens once you're connected to municipal utilities.

On the plus side, it may bring you good water if your's is questionable, it may bring fire hydrants to rural areas, another good thing. So, be careful what you sign. Pluses and minuses in every agreement.

 

[Ken45101]

We already have water from the road on the other side of the property. And there are no fire hydrants out here either although this line would be big enough to support them. I don't think annexation is anywhere on the radar, this 3 miles long road only has five homes on the entire road.

Thanks all for your input and experiences.

Ken

 

[ultrarunner]

One person I knew granted an easement for a large line and only asked one thing... a dedicated fire hydrant and he got it...

At least his insurance rate went down...

 

[bdog]

You say you have water by your house and this is on the back side of your property. Do you have water piped back there currently? Would you like to? If not I would consider letting them do it and putting a connection back there for you to use if you needed it. My land is narrow and about a half mile long. I wish I had water way in the back.

 

[Wagtail]

The problem here, bdog, is that if a 'town' water & sewage line (the two sort of go hand-in-hand) are put in = you're property tax goes up... whether you've hooked up or not.

AND you have to pay to hook up.

I'd always wondered (up 'til I retired here to a rural setting) why most of the farm houses were so close to the road instead of set back where it was more peaceful. Now I know, it was too expensive to hook up to the utilities.

 

[stuckmotor]

Some of the biggest problems I've had have taken place after people maintained right of ways or "is it rights of way". The less people on my property the better.

 

[tractorshopper]

Very common for local municipalities here to give you X water taps or some other compensation, and those taps can go in your bank for future use whenever/wherever you want them. That's worth money if you plan to build or your kids will build on your property or any other in the same municipality.

I know the rural water hook-up at my property is $2,500 for a water tap, which is why I haven't done it yet. I'll only pay for that if I ever build there. It's keeping me from doing my garden there, which is too bad, because that soil is great.

 

[kidr]

I won't willingly agree to any easement through my property, period. I don't care if would benefit me some how. No easements. Talking from experience.

 

[dodge man]

I think a lot of people worries are unfounded.

Why would your taxes go up? If you have public utilities, they might go up slightly because it would add a little value but you already have water.

The easement can be made exclusive. That means its for the water company and no one else.

Annex you? Some cities will require an annexation aggrement to hook up to their utilities. If other people annex and your property then touches the city limits, you are annexed. That doesn't sound like an issue here, its a rural water system.

It sounds to me like the water company would have very little reason to use the easement again unless there was a water main break.