r/utilities

Quick summary, my family owns a set of units that are rental apartments. A tenant didn’t pay a utility bill and utilities were turned off. After the bill was quickly remedied, the water company came and turned the water back on. The tenant left a faucet open and was at work/away when the water company came and turned the water back on. The entire unit flooded. The insurance battle is a whole other story, but came here to ask this. I’m constantly told by folks that it is “standard procedure” for the water company to turn on water, but wait, and ensure the meter stops to indicate no leaks/left open faucets. (Clearly didn’t happen here; we also have crazy pressure and a faucet left open would clearly show on the meter). We’re working with an attorney but I’m wanting to know where can I find evidence of this practice being “standard procedure” vs. what I’m told by folks familiar with the utility company. My perfect end state is holding the training manual/utility company policy that explicitly states this, but I haven’t found anything online that’s helpful for my specific utility company. I’ve also looked at the states public urilities commission laws, and nothing helpful there. Any help guiding me where i could find this “standard procedure” in writing/the closest thing to would be appreciated!

. I am a foreman for an underground drill crew for ten years so I know almost everything there is about utilities easements and things like that but this is something specific that maybe would be a better question for a lawyer. There were these two homeowners today husband and wife. My partner and I were finishing a job and we needed access to rear easement behind all of the houses on the street. I knew these people were going to be trouble when the lady came over in the morning and told us to move our truck off of her property for being parked in front of her house on a public street. I did not move it. By the look the neighbor gave me when I asked about that lady, told me everything I needed to know. I asked, do you have trouble with those neighbors? She didn’t specifically tell me yes but the look she gave me was a look of yes they are absolutely crazy. Later in the day my partner and I needed to bring a piece of plastic conduit through the side of their house in between a gap in their fences and the neighbors fence. Both fences do not touch and you can walk in between those fences from the front to the utility easement in the rear. When they saw us walking in between their house and the neighbors house they came outside and it was a huge shouting ordeal police were called obviously there were no damages but homeowners say we are trespassing I say we are not because we have right to access easement. Police say there is access to easement about a 1/4 mile down the road. I say there is no way of me knowing that and also I am not required to go 1/4 mile away to access an easement when I can walk in between the houses. I did not open any gates do no digging anywhere near their house, simply walk in between fences on the property line to an open easement in the rear, all drilling was done a few houses away. I have pictures of the gap in between fences. Also when plastic conduit was on the grass homeowner started grabbing it and trying to pull it away I grabbed it out of his hand and told him to not touch my things while he also putt bags of lawn mulch to try to block the opening in between fence that we simply walked over. The homeowners argument was also why not use someone else’s yard I said because this was the most convenient for access and I am not choosing them or picking on them; but I believe I most definitely have the right to walk on their property to access easement, which is behind all houses on road. Who is in the right?