Private Underground Utility Locating Services

When 811 Doesn't Suffice

Private Utility Locating is a service provided by SoftDig® that is called for in situations where “811 One Call” mark-outs will not fully identify all utilities on a site. This is often the case on private property, large industrial facilities, university campuses, or construction sites. Private Utility Locating is requested by contractors prior to excavation, drillers prior to boring deep excavations, and facility managers prior to making improvements on their sites and various other situations.

Detecting Variations and Providing Reliable Data

Most utilities are not laying underground in nice, straight lines. Instead, service requirements and geophysical properties cause various alterations in the course of an underground utility. Some adjustments might be as little as a foot, or they can be drastic changes in direction. The experienced analysts and field technicians of SoftDig® can detect the wide array of variations that may be discovered in the field and provide clients with reliable data.

The dependable underground utility locating service provided by SoftDig® allows clients to avoid inevitable property damage, construction delays, injuries, environmental degradation, utility service interruptions, and business disruption. With over three decades of Private Utility Locating experience, SoftDig® field analysts and technicians have a proven track record of consistently providing the high quality data required to prevent complications that can lead to project scope deviations.

Private Utility Locating is only different from Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) designation in terms of the strict quality control and reporting required when working on utility engineering and design projects. SoftDig® necessitates strict quality control on all projects regardless of label. Rest assured, with SoftDig® you’re only receiving the highest quality field designations and data reporting.

Learn More About Private Utility Locating

Locating Underground Hazards, Before They Cause Damage

August 21, 2023

In any digging project, if you hit something underground, chances are it will not be buried treasure. Underground utility strikes are dangerous and costly, but luckily are almost always avoidable.

When to Call in a Private Utility Locator

If you dig into the ground without first verifying the location of utility lines in that area, you may damage water, gas, electrical, communications or

Utility Flag Colors Explained…and More!

July 21, 2023

If you find yourself confused by some of the words being used in the field of utility locating. Or you are asking yourself what the

FAQs

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 811 SERVICES AND PRIVATE UTILITY LOCATING?

One-call 811 location crews only locate public utility lines. Because more than 65% of all buried utility lines are categorized as private subsurface utilities, private utility locating crews are needed to mark out any water, gas, and electrical lines that extend beyond the service meter or are located on private, residential, commercial, and municipal land. Read more about when to call a private utility locator.

HOW DEEP CAN YOU LOCATE UTILITIES?

We can typically locate utilities up to 15ft deep; however soil and ground moisture conditions in addition to the condition of the utility itself play a big part in our success. We have multiple tools at our disposal to give us the best chance to find the utilities we are looking for.

How long are utility maps valid?

Utility maps are valid and accurate for three months. After 90 days, underground mapping tools should be used again to verify the map and ensure there have been no changes affecting buried utilities.

Utility Markouts

When are utilities considered private?

Most utilities on public land are owned and maintained by municipalities or cooperatives owned by the customers they serve. Private Utilities are owned and maintained by a private facility or are located on private property with no easement. Often private utilities are not included in public records or as-builts, they typically originate in the facility they serve or are continuations of public utilities onto private property.

How do you mark out underground utilities?

We have several geo-physical techniques utilizing a variety of technologies to accomplish this. Our “go-to” methods utilize radio frequencies that are powered through utility lines via a transmitter and can be picked up by an accompanying receiver. Secondly, we utilize multiple Ground Penetrating Radars that have different frequencies depending on the application.

Can you be certain of the type of utility when locating electronically?

Not always, often the way we definitively identify a utility is by the above ground physical indicators we find in the field such as valves, manholes, or markers.

How do you find untraceable / plastic pipes?

We use our Ground Penetrating Radar to locate hard to find utilities. We can also use a process we call “dig to find” where we use our vacuum excavation truck to dig a series of test holes on an untraceable utility in order to lay out its direction. The number of holes needed to complete this process varies based on the utilities direction and the amount of distance it covers.

What do you do if you can’t find a utility with your electronic equipment?

If we can’t find a utility with our electronic locating equipment or GPR we suggest our non-invasive and safe vacuum excavation test holes in the area where the utility is assumed to be.

Our Work