Residential Utility Location Services

In terms of danger levels, buried gas lines are a close second to power cables. Rupturing a pressurized gas pipe can have explosive results, destroying homes and risking the lives of those in the vicinity. Buried gas lines can be very easy to locate, or very difficult, depending on how old the service is and/or if the utility company took the care to install it with a tracer wire.

For this reason it is always best to call in a professional to locate gas lines prior to any excavation work on your property. 

Striking a water mains doesn’t usually pose a severe safety risk, however it can certainly turn a simple job into a messy and costly exercise! Once past the Toby Valve (the tap in the ground usually located on your front boundary) the watermain is the property owners responsibility, so if you damage this line, you will be forced to pay for the repairs and cleanup!

As water lines are typically plastic and do not have tracer wires, they can be difficult to locate without the correct equipment and training. Our operators have a range of technology at their disposal, including the latest in Acoustic Listening Devices, which enable us to quickly locate buried water lines. 

Fibre is typically a Utility Locators nemesis! The lines themselves are a tiny fibre optic strand, wrapped in fiberglass, coated with plastic, ie. they contain nothing conductive! Thus, unless the line has been laid with a tracer (not common in these days of high-volume mass thrusting) cannot be traced using standard electromagnetic technology. 

In suitable conditions, we can utilize our GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) unit to locate these lines, but often our technicians must rely on their industry experience to deduce their location. 

If needed, we will dig a small trench (called a slot-trench) by hand in order to verify the location of buried Fibre Optic Cables. 

The Sewer network needs little explaining, however few people outside of the industry really grasp the complexity of what lay beneath their feet and under their properties. In fact many private properties have council-owned Sewer and Stormwater lines running beneath them and naturally councils want to ensure these pipes are not damaged or disrupted in any way by the actions of residents. For this reason, if you intend on digging anywhere near a council Sewer pipe, it is imperative that you locate any buried network pipes and consider these when planning any excavation or building works.

Councils require advanced permission to access their lines, which is needed to locate them accurately above ground. Fortunately our technicians have years of experience working with council-owned assets and we understand and follow these proper procedures. 

*If your proposed building work is on top of or near a council-owned pipe it is likely that you will also be required to provide a pre and post CCTV pipe condition survey (to prove you did not damage the pipe during construction). Contact us about our CCTV Services for more details. 

The Stormwater drainage network is where your house downpipes run into (unless your downpipes run into soak holes on your property). As with Sewer pipes, when it comes to renovations or extensions requiring consents, councils will insist that you have any council-owner Stormwater lines under your property accurately located and marked out prior to any excavation – including post holing for decks or fences. Likewise, your architectural engineer will need to know the exact location of these lines to design appropriate foundations for any  building extensions. This is where you need reliable and accurate locations!

Council mains Sewer and Stormwater can be as shallow as 300mm or as deep as 20m! Don’t risk the fines and potential harm that can come from hitting these buried pipes. Give us a call first!