HDPE water and gas pipe v. Gophers

Question

I have an open trench and I might as well fill it with expensive plastic.
I went by the local irrigation supply to get 1 inch HDPE water line and was told gophers eat that around here (south-central WA) and I should stick with PVC. I want to avoid joints under the future patio.
I then realized I had ordered HDPE gas pipe for said trench. Will this get gnawed on by gophers too? I have a lot of gophers here although none of my surface PE irrigation lines have been damaged.
Is there any truth to this old wives tale or is it just rumors on the old-timey internet forums? Should I use copper gas lines to be safe? Local AHJ just shrugged at the question.

George Anderson · Accepted Answer

I feel your pain, I live in Western Washington and have the same issue. One way to protect against gopher damage is a larger pipe. Like 2" conduit or similar. They can't open their mouths enough to gnaw on it. But it's not an "old wives tale". Gophers can do a lot of damage to buried lines. So if I were doing this, I'd at least put in 2" conduit (or pipe) in areas that would be difficult to access later. If you want to go further, put it all in conduit. Depending upon how long the run is, it's not really all that expensive and good insurance.

Correct answer by George Anderson on April 24, 2021

HDPE water and gas pipe v. Gophers

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