Can I drive a ground rod near a gas meter?
The electrical ground to the water pipe is required and not a hack.  It is supposed to be connected as close to the supply side as practical, preferably upstream of any cutoff valves.

There should also be an electrical ground connection to your gas line if any of the gas lines inside the house are conductive, like black pipe.

When I set out to install the ground rods for my house a few years ago, I knew they would be within 18 inches of the gas feed from the street&mdash;as they had just installed the gas line.  I asked the gas company, electrical inspector, and electric utility if that was okay.  They all said that was just fine with them provided it didn't nick the gas line.