I can comment on that. In Edmonton, the preferred method of doing water service renewals is through directional drilling, which is a good technology because it doesn't involve cutting up patios and infrastructure at the surface. It's similar to what you described, in that a hole is dug in the alley or the front of the house, and a hole is dug in the basement of the home, and a directional drill is put through. A new copper line is fed through, and the old lead line is left in place but disconnected. It works well. We have nine feet of coverage in Edmonton, which is quite a lot of excavation, so the cost of doing a directional drill often makes sense in Edmonton.
On November 30th, 2017. See this statement in context.