private utility locating service

Any time you plan to dig on your own residential or commercial property, the first step should be to discover utility lines. The help of a private utility locating service should be used for both small and large dig operations, whether you’re excavating on private or public land.

These services are extremely useful for detecting and avoiding public underground utilities. It is more common than you might imagine coming upon underground utilities while excavating or doing other excavation work.

So, we’ll go over all you need to know about utility locating, when it should be done, and why it’s such an important initial step for every business owner in the section below.

Private Utility Locating: What You Need to Know?

Is it time to call your private utility locator? We understand that you don’t always want to call if you don’t have to. However, if you’re digging on a commercial site, you’ll almost certainly come across hidden private utilities.

Any utility that extends beyond the meter is typically referred to as a private utility. Warehouses, office parks, universities, hospitals, retail projects, and industrial sites are examples of situations where a private location is required.

Commercial sites, such as apartment complexes or other areas with restricted access, may also be included.

A trained utility locator will visit your site when a site visit has been booked to determine if a full locate is achievable based on site conditions. If the conditions are suitable, a ground-penetrating radar will be utilized to scan the ground surface and detect the location of an object.

This information is then marked or mapped to produce a clear picture of regions to avoid when excavating or doing other invasive groundwork.

Calling Private Utility Locating Services: Call Before You Dig

“Call before you dig” is a phrase you’ve probably heard. This campaign has been launched around the country to educate people about the significance of detecting subsurface utilities before excavating.

Whether you’re building a pool, putting up a fence, or landscaping, make sure the area is clear of utility lines.

From any state, you or the company you’ve engaged to execute the work should dial 811.

Before excavating on any business or residential property, including your own. Technicians will be dispatched to the site to use electromagnetic equipment to locate potholing utilities.

Then any that run from the street to the service meter are marked. This will assist households and professionals in avoiding damage to water, sewage, power, and natural gas lines.

Do You Need Private Utility Locating Services?

You’ll almost certainly need to do a second call before beginning your excavation endeavor. Private utility locating services may be required to locate and demarcate underground electrical wires, gas pipes, and other utilities on private, residential, commercial, and municipal property.

The wires that run beyond the service meter are known as private utilities. Electrical lines running from the meter to a house or building, for example, would be considered private.

Even on your own land, it’s critical to have these boundaries clearly and properly designated before beginning to dig for safety and liability concerns. You’ll need to hire a private underground utility locator to have these identified.

Utility maps are frequently missing, obsolete, erroneous, or incomplete, therefore private locator personnel do not rely on them.

Instead, they use a variety of specialized technologies to conduct a thorough analysis of the area. Electromagnetic equipment, ground penetrating radar (GPR), and electronic or radio frequency (RF) pipe and cable locating instruments are just a few examples.

Finally, a private locator may create comprehensive, high-quality utility maps of active and abandoned lines.

What Happens When Potholing Utilities are Hit?

Excavation work that is carried out without calling a private utility locating service is a hazardous operation.

When buried utilities are impacted, workers can easily be wounded or killed, making the location of subterranean utilities a safety issue first and foremost. Damage to the utility and the equipment in use is a possibility.

Repairs of underground utilities can be costly and time-consuming due to their nature. These frequently necessitate the excavation of the full length of pipe, cable, or conduit, which comes with significant fines and downtime.

Damage to nearby networks can result in difficulties like internet outages or flooding in the vicinity. When a buried utility is destroyed, the contractor is responsible for repairing it as soon as possible. Not to mention these actions can be costly and time-consuming.

Public Utilities Vs. Private Utilities

Public utility services install public utilities to give service to a specific area. Regardless of whether they are on public or private land, the public utility provider owns and maintains these lines. Gas, power, and electricity are examples of public utilities.

Private utilities are those that extend beyond service meters or public utilities and, in many cases, onto privately owned land. Electrical feeders and gas mains running across parking lots or to important institutions such as hospitals or fire stations are examples of private utilities.

Lines running to and from substations, major industrial complexes, and refineries are examples. Because these utilities would be owned and maintained by the property owner, they would be outside the jurisdiction of utility locating firms.

What are the Different Private Utility Lines?

Most homes have unmarked private utility wires, which pose a serious risk to anyone excavating.

It’s critical that all lines are identified and marked. These are just a few of the subterranean utilities that could be present on your property.

Electricity for exterior lighting
Septic pipes
Sprinkler systems
Invisible fencing
Gas lines for heated pools
Gas lines to fire pits or grills
Power for a detached garage
Storm drains
Satellite dish lines

Call a Reliable Private Utility Locator

Using a private utility finder to avoid hitting concealed utilities is an excellent technique to avoid hitting them. Electric, gas, oil, steam, communications, water, sewer, and storm lines may all be found by private utility locators like us.

We are experts at identifying buried materials, removing the guesswork from your excavation. Don’t take the risk of hitting buried utilities, contact us at Util-Locate today!

Ground-penetrating radars (GPRs) use high-frequency electromagnetic radiation to locate underground utilities in places that are too dangerous for humans to enter, like sewers, collapsed mines, and building foundations.

These radars can locate underground utilities quickly and accurately, making them very useful in potholing utilities or private utility locating services, as well as in utility locating services conducted by utility companies themselves. Whether you’re working with natural gas or water pipes, the following guide will help you understand how GPRs work and how to use them most effectively for private utility locating.

What Is A GPR?

Essentially, a GPR sends radio pulses into one end of an object of interest and measures how long it takes for them to bounce back out. If there’s something in between (such as a buried object), then some of those signals won’t make it back to their starting point.

Like other tools used for potholing utilities, GPRs come in various sizes depending on application needs. They can be handheld versions designed for easy use by technicians on foot looking for infrastructure along roadsides; larger ones used by heavy machinery operators clearing construction sites; and even miniaturized drone versions controlled via smartphone apps.

The Best Uses for GPRs

Two of the most common uses for ground penetrating radars are detecting buried utility lines, such as gas or electric lines, and locating lost items in hard to reach areas.

Private utility locating services are especially good at finding cables that have been deliberately buried. GPRs can also be used for probing soil conditions before construction.

From private utility locating to potholing utilities, GPR is often used for such purposes and can locate pipes up to 20 feet underground. While a traditional surveyor may take weeks or months to complete their task, with GPR it’s only hours or days at most.

The Advantages of GPRs

First and foremost, using a GPR is an incredibly fast way to conduct utility locating services. The high frequency radio waves pass through all sorts of materials — from asphalt to concrete to earth — giving you a view beneath that surface.

Unlike traditional utility locating services or potholing utilities, you don’t have to dig a trench or disturb anything above ground level, which makes it perfect for areas where excavation would be disruptive.

The Disadvantages of GPRs

That said, you should also be aware of the common disadvantages associated with GPRs. If a utility has been damaged, removed or destroyed then you could miss it with a GPR system. This is why it’s vital to use qualified professional utility locators that have been trained and experienced in private locating techniques.

While GPRs can lower the costs of your overall project by reducing the need to dig up an entire site, the equipment itself is not cheap.

Get the Job Done With Our Expert Utility Locating Services

When working with GPRs, it is imperative that you remain aware of local ordinances regarding excavation work near existing utility lines. This is where we come in.

A private utility locating service can provide you with all of these tools to pinpoint a leak in your water line, an underground pipe, or other important utilities. For those who do not have an underground network and are trying to find out what is below their land, potholing utilities is another way to pinpoint what lies beneath you.

To learn more about how our team can help with private utility locating, contact us at Util-Locate today.

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When to Call in a Private Utility Locator