Where I am in south Florida, if you are installing a water supply line below grade between point A and point B, like from a house to a detach garage or shed, the minimum depth is 12". However, irrigation line can be buried at a lesser depth, only 4 to 6 inches.

So if I want to run a PVC pipe from point A to point B, where at point B it will turn up into a riser to go say 24" above grade, terminated with a hose bibb, attached to a fence post. Is that line a water line that needs to be buried 12" or more because it's always under pressure or is that line an irrigation line because it's sole purpose is to a hose bibb and obviously it's for irrigation so it only needs to be 6" deep (well I guess it can be used for washing a car, or refilling a swimming pool too).



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It IS a"pressure" line,, and NOT exclusively for irrigation so it goes deeper.

yeah, an irrigation line is one that is turned on and off thru an electric solenoid valve with a timer.

Irrigation lines are normally dry, after the watering cycle is done and the solenoid shuts off the lines should self drain. So if someone digging hits the pipe there's no geyser. Piping to a spigot like you are describing is wet and pressurized and must be down 12". Be thankful you're not up in Packy's neck of the woods where water lines need to be 48" down to get below the frost line....

or,like in north dakota 7 to 8 ft. burr

True, if you have to go below the frost line, and go 4, 5, 6 even 8 feet that's a lot of work. How wide do you need to trench for an 8' deep trench just to lay a 3" drain? Do you have to go real wide on top or do you have to support it with some temp walls and braces?

Yeah I was kind of hoping to cheat 6" of digging because it's 40' long trench.

the recommended depth has to do with freezing water lines.
sewer lines don't freeze

Packy yes I understand but sewer lines are deep where you are because your houses have basements right? Our sewer lines are also much shallower.

Sum,

A long time ago I lived in the Tampa Bay area. A neighbor rented a Ditch Witch and pulled pipes 2 feet beneath the ground. The soil is so sandy in Florida that the Ditch Witch cuts through it like butter. My understanding is that they also frequently cut through roots, pipes and utility cables, particularly in amateur hands.

More recently, I hired a plumbing firm to install a new water main using trenchless technology. They pushed the pipe through the ground along a carefully pre-planned path. Took only a few hours and didn't leak for the 20 subsequent years before I sold the house.

I'm not a plumber.