What does this site utilities final checklist cover?

14 items across 4 sections, covering water main, gravity sewer, backfill and record, structures and dry utilities. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.

Who should run this inspection?

The GC's superintendent with the utility foreman and the testing party, witnessing the tests and walking the finished lines.

When in the schedule should this walk happen?

After backfill and before the surface goes back, with the required tests witnessed rather than taken on a paper result.

Why do these items ask for a photo?

6 of the 14 items call for photo evidence, 10 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.

What most often fails a site utilities final inspection?

A pressure test 'passed' on a gauge nobody watched hold, so a slow leak is signed off and found after paving. Manhole rims and valve boxes left low or high of finish grade, needing a chase and adjustment after the surface is in. Trench backfill dropped in without compaction, so the line telegraphs a settlement trough through the new pavement.

Can I use this checklist in RTI?

Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Free checklist

Site utilities

Site utilities final inspection checklist

Site utilities final inspection is where the punch list is either short or expensive. This checklist walks the finished work the way an owner or AHJ will see it: devices on, systems running, everything labeled. Each item gets the photo that closes it instead of reopening it. Work is commonly verified against IPC / UPC plumbing codes, the project specifications. Confirm the edition your authority having jurisdiction has adopted.

Start free with this checklist Download as PDF

The checklist

Every item, and the photo evidence it needs

The photo count on each row is what RTI would require before the item can be submitted. Work the list here and watch the gate hold, or load it into RTI and let it enforce the real thing.

Water main

Pressure and leakage test observed
Hydrostatic pressure and leakage test on the water main witnessed, pressure held for the specified duration, gauge and any make-up water recorded.
No photo
Main disinfected and bacteriological results passed before service
Chlorination, flushing and the lab's bacteriological sample results on file for each segment before the new main is connected to the live system.
No photo
Every valve on the new main operated through its full travel
Valves cycled open and closed before tie-in, or by the utility's operators once connected, with the engineer present, and left in the position the plan shows.
No photo

Gravity sewer

Mandrel or deflection and camera on gravity lines observed
Mandrel or deflection test pulled and the CCTV run witnessed on storm and sanitary, video reviewed for bellies, offsets, infiltration and debris.
Manholes and structures sound and to grade
Structures set plumb, benching and channels shaped, joints sealed, rims and covers adjusted to finish grade.
Low-pressure air or exfiltration test on sanitary lines witnessed
Contractor's air or water test on each sanitary reach watched by the utility or engineer, with the signed result filed against the reach number.
No photo
Manhole vacuum or exfiltration test record filed for every structure
Test record for each sanitary manhole matched to its structure number, any failed structure repaired and retested before the record closes.
No photo

Backfill and record

Trench backfill compacted
Backfill placed in lifts and compacted, compaction test results confirmed on the trench line before the surface is restored.
As-builts recorded before cover
Line locations, inverts, structures and any deviations from the plan recorded on the as-built before the surface closes it off.
Tracer wire continuity proved from its access points
Locator signal put on the wire at each test box or valve box and followed along the nonmetallic runs, any break found and spliced before the surface goes back.
No photo
Test reports and CCTV video indexed for the turnover package
Pressure, disinfection, air, vacuum, mandrel and compaction records and the inspection video files labeled by reach and structure number and filed with the as-built.
No photo

Structures and dry utilities

Covers and grates cast for the right utility and traffic rating
Lids marked sanitary, storm or water as the utility requires, and frames and grates in drive lanes carry the load rating shown on the plans.
Temporary plugs and test bulkheads removed from every structure
Each manhole and inlet viewed from the rim with a light, test plugs and shift-end caps out of the pipes and flow running through the channel.
Dry-utility conduits proved with a mandrel and pull strings left in
Each conduit mandreled end to end by the installer, pull line left in and ends capped, results recorded per conduit for the serving utility.
No photo

What usually sends this back

The failures are almost always the evidence, not the work

A pressure test 'passed' on a gauge nobody watched hold, so a slow leak is signed off and found after paving.
Manhole rims and valve boxes left low or high of finish grade, needing a chase and adjustment after the surface is in.
Trench backfill dropped in without compaction, so the line telegraphs a settlement trough through the new pavement.

Verified against

IPC / UPC plumbing codes

Common questions

6 answers

What does this site utilities final checklist cover?: 14 items across 4 sections, covering water main, gravity sewer, backfill and record, structures and dry utilities. Each item spells out what the person walking the job is actually looking for, not just a box to tick.
Who should run this inspection?: The GC's superintendent with the utility foreman and the testing party, witnessing the tests and walking the finished lines.
When in the schedule should this walk happen?: After backfill and before the surface goes back, with the required tests witnessed rather than taken on a paper result.
Why do these items ask for a photo?: 6 of the 14 items call for photo evidence, 10 photos in all. A checklist answer without the photo is a claim; the photo is what makes the record worth something in a dispute and lets a reviewer approve work without re-walking the job.
What most often fails a site utilities final inspection?: A pressure test 'passed' on a gauge nobody watched hold, so a slow leak is signed off and found after paving. Manhole rims and valve boxes left low or high of finish grade, needing a chase and adjustment after the surface is in. Trench backfill dropped in without compaction, so the line telegraphs a settlement trough through the new pavement.
Can I use this checklist in RTI?: Yes. Start a free RTI workspace, build this list as a checklist, and the Photo Gate holds the submit button until every mandatory item is answered and its photos are attached. Approved inspections roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident audit trail.

Related checklists

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Run it with the Photo Gate

A checklist nobody can submit half-finished

Load this list into RTI, stick a QR tag on the area it covers, and the submit button stays locked until every mandatory item is answered and the 10 required photos exist. Approved walks roll into a branded turnover package with a tamper evident record behind every line.