Contrary to popular belief, there is NO separation distance between electrical panels and water. This is a very common misconception.

There IS however a set of working clearances that must be met for EVERY panel.
This space is 30" wide, 36" deep (in front), and 6'6" high.
The panel does not need to be centered in the 30" wide space, it can be anywhere in that 30".

There will be nothing in front of the panel save the other wall of the room, five feet away, nothing on one side for five inches, nothing on the other for 25 inches. I was told by an electrician in our city there IS a statue regarding space from water such as the spigot/drain for a washer some five years ago, but can not recall if that was three or five feet, and even if I could, don't know how you measure it. The context at the time was how far a tankless hot water heater had to be mounted on the wall from the panel.

Then it is a local amendment/requirement. There is NO such NEC rule.

It certainly wouldn't be the only inexplicable local amendment. When I mentioned this to someone at the local hardware super-mega-all-you-can-eat store I found out several local inspectors won't allow you to have a sink or dishwasher anywhere within either 18 or 24 inches of a stove. I guess that means spigots to fill pots on the stove are out, says I, all bright eye'd and bushy tailed, but no. Some of the same inspectors allow those. More fun, there is no such thing as a list of local vaiences to the code. We asked for one as it would sure make our diying easier and they gave us a paper that said the local guys shall make whatever changes they deem necessary. We asked after being told we needed heavier wire. They are requiring wire capable of a heavier load than national requirements on normal household circuits. Then they let you use lesser wire on the doglegs to lights, which seems odd to me but whatever. I thought this was due to people becoming so tied to electronics but they told me oh no that had nothing to do with it, it was fire hazzard. Oo

Can't really pin the stove thing down either. Our city inspector never heard of such a thing - thank goodness as my dishwasher is planned to reside right beside the stove. We made him sign off approval of our chosen location on the spot so we are good to go.

"More fun, there is no such thing as a list of local vaiences to the code. We asked for one as it would sure make our diying easier and they gave us a paper that said the local guys shall make whatever changes they deem necessary."

That's funny. I thought this was The USA. I wasn't aware we still had dictators.

What state and city are you in with this type of bovine scatology???

It might be time to talk to the state guys.

It's funny what people will tell you about local variances. When we were building our house, we had any number of people tell us that the city would not approve our installation of a cooktop, with a pop-up vent behind it, in front of a window. Comes inspection day, and the inspector looks at it and doesn't bat an eye. So much for that myth.

I thought this was The USA. I wasn't aware we still had dictators.

I take it that's a joke, right? Local modifications to code are hardly unusual. Look at Chicago. AFAIK, all are "as deemed necessary" by the local authorities. I've never heard of anybody getting to vote on stuff like this.

Perhaps you've never met anyone who's lived under a genuine dictator. Any South Korean over the age of 40 can tell you what it's like. Their country was effectively a dictatorship until 1987.

"I take it that's a joke, right?"

Actually no, it wasn't. Any inspector who makes their own rules is a "dictator" of sorts. At the very least it is abuse of power IMO.

"Perhaps you've never met anyone who's lived under a genuine dictator."

Actually I was raised by such a person. (Not the dictator)

Well, irregardless of any dictatorship discussions, this is Denison, Texas, and the local inspectors have a great number of rules that are not in the NEC and other national building codes. I personally am not as concerned with the dictator issue as I am with just tell me the rule and I will comply. The line about the inspectors shall make whatever rules they deem necessary was given to us by the City and is actually part of the City's building code, and we understand it's common, at least in this part of the country, to have such a rule in the building code. The intention is apparently to cover whatever special case scenario might arrise, given there are constantly new products and such coming on the market and new ideas floating around, etc.

"The intention is apparently to cover whatever special case scenario might arrise, given there are constantly new products and such coming on the market and new ideas floating around, etc."

And unfortunately this also leaves the H-O or contractor at the mercy of the local AHJ and his mood that day. Or if he has it in for someone, he can make their lives miserable for no good or legal reason. This is one of the finest forms of corruption, under the guise of "building safety".