All too often the news is filled with stories of evacuations, flooding, and in many cases injuries or death as the result of damage to underground lines. Whether digging with hand tools or machines, trenching, drilling borings, or simply cutting concrete, it is very easy to damage underground lines. Sometimes the consequences of striking underground lines are an inconvenience, such as in a recent event where a project team conducting hand dug pits for an acheological study unintentionally punctured an HDPE water line interrupting the water supply to an agricultural field. Many times, however, the consequences are much more severe as evidenced by recent examples of gas line explosions and electrical burns resulting from damage or impact to underground lines.

A robust pre-planning exercise before digging can greatly minimize the risk of hitting or damaging underground lines. Elements of planning should include, at a minimum, one call notification, a review of known information about a location, visual surveys, and conversations with knowledgeable people. Prior to selecting locations, technology can be used to trace known lines, and in many cases, assess potential obstructions in the ground. Finally, non-destructive excavation methods can greatly reduce the potential to damage underground lines.

This presentation will review industry practices for pre-planning ground disturbance activities, as well as the pros and cons of many non-intrusive technologies for tracing or locating lines. In addition, alternative technologies for physically uncovering lines or safely conducting excavations will be discussed.