One thing I've always wanted to know: Where is the actual "ground rod" in a building/residence? How do I find it? I've assumed it was just the water pipe, but now I am not sure.
Also, don't these rods get corroded to oblivion after decades in the ground from electo-chemical reactions?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ufer_ground
5 years ago I built my house and did my all my electrical, I needed a Ufer ground in the foundation and 2 ground rods near the meter. Being a newer area, water lines were plastic.
Rods definitely do corrode and need to be replaced regularly. ~10 years for zinc coated steel and ~40 years for copper coated steel rods.
They do get corroded and are supposed to be replaced every so often. Different materials are used depending on the type of soil to minimize the corrosion. If they're really fancy they might have a cathodic protection system to prevent corrosion.
The water pipes are not metal at our house, so they would be of no use as an electrical ground.
This was in 2014, in Poland.