Underground surveying is more than paint marking on the ground. When people try to cut corners by digging blindly, they suffer the consequences. An estimated $1 billion in damages to underground utilities is reported annually. Costly damage to hidden pipes and cables is avoidable if you are proactive before you dig.
Underground surveying is the overall process that includes line locating, four-way and blind sweeps, and subsurface mapping. In this post, we’ll go over how underground surveys work, what line locating means and how calling Meridian Surveys will save you money and headaches.
Underground Surveying Vs Line Locating: What’s The Difference?
Underground surveying is the approach to mapping all known and unknown buried features. Line locating specifically locates buried utility lines. Other methods of underground surveys include GPR (ground penetrating radar) for non-metal or complex terrain, four-way sweeps for directional checks, and blind sweeps for unmapped or older sites.
Meridian Surveys offers line-locating services focused on safety, efficiency, and accuracy. Our experienced team utilizes advanced technology and industry best practices to identify and map underground pipelines, cables, and other utilities. Our line locating services ensure that all underground utilities are located and precisely marked to minimize the risk of accidental damage.
Who Needs Underground Surveying
Our drafting and mapping team ensures swift and accurate plan and map preparation. We conduct surveys for clients in various industries with differing needs, such as:
Contractors: Site grading, landscaping, cut/fill plans and equipment staging.
Oil & Gas: New tie-ins, maintenance, pipeline crossings
Municipalities: Road upgrades, sidewalks and waterline repairs
Homeowners: Fences, additions, or major landscaping
We support all types of projects and people with real-time digital mapping and GIS services. These services offer comprehensive visualization that is useful at all stages, from planning to completion.
Why You Need A Proper Survey
Underground utility surveying is a complex task with several common challenges. You need to have an accurate understanding of a site before digging starts. Utility lines, such as water, gas, and sewer lines, are difficult to detect because of their varied depths. Even with the best equipment and prior knowledge of other utility depth markers, accurately mapping these utilities requires specialized knowledge, tools, and experience.
Access to these utilities is an added difficulty; older infrastructure may be under layers of new construction or obstacles like tree roots or boulders. Additionally, urban areas with construction from different eras can create complicated networks of overlapping utilities. Even if you’re not digging or not digging very deep, you will be risking your safety without a utility locating service determining line depths and placement.
What Happens When You Dig Blindly?
Striking an unmarked utility line can lead to emergency repairs, environmental damage, and even fines and lawsuits. Any of these consequences can shut down your project or delay and pile up work while you wait for repairs and permits. It’s also possible that companies will deny insurance claims if an accident happens and there is no proof that you did your due diligence to make the site safe.
A single mistake underground can cost you more in the long run than taking the time for a thorough survey. Professional underground surveyors like Meridian give you and everyone working on your project peace of mind by keeping you safe, reducing delays, and saving money.
Meridian Does It Right So You Keep Your Peace Of Mind
Trust Meridian Surveys to provide you with more than quick line markings. We have a proven, certified process and professionally trained local surveyors. Every detail is clear and documented for crews working on-site. And because our surveyors are local, we know the ground conditions in the area, can access municipal records, and are aware of the possibility of aging pipelines.
It’s our goal to protect people, properties and budgets. When you work with Meridian, you’ll get the peace of mind you need. Don’t dig blindly; talk to our team today, and get a professional underground survey to keep your project on track.