A platoon of GPRS Project Managers is assisting with the safe undergrounding of utilities in a Florida suburb.
The local power company is moving overhead electrical lines underground to protect them from damage and improve the reliability of the service for their customers. The lines are being placed underground utilizing horizontal directional drilling (HDD), a trenchless technology that offers a less invasive alternative to traditional open-cut excavation methods.
This process involves drilling a precisely controlled, horizontal bore path underground, which minimizes surface disruption and reduces the environmental impact of utility installation projects.
Although the initial setup cost for HDD can be higher than traditional methods, the overall project cost is often lower due to reduced labor, restoration, and traffic management expenses. The speed of HDD installations also contributes to cost savings. And because HDD is highly adaptable, it can be used in a variety of soil conditions including sand, clay, and rock. It is also suitable for crossing obstacles such as rivers, highways, and railways, making it an ideal solution for complex projects, and minimizes the risk of accidents associated with open trenches, such as cave-ins and falling hazards.
The biggest drawback to HDD is that the operator of the drill has no way of knowing when they’ve bored through something they shouldn’t have – like a buried sewer lateral.
These inadvertent intersections of buried utilities are known as cross bores, but utility companies have another name for them: ticking time bombs. A compromised sewer line can lead to soil contamination, system disruptions, or worse. And if that sewer line has been pierced by an electric or gas line, and a plumber attempts to clear what they assume is a simple blockage in the pipe, lives can be lost.
The best way to prevent cross bores when installing utilities underground is to hire a professional utility locating and sewer pipe inspection company like GPRS to conduct inspections both before and after new lines are installed. We provide you with an accurate, comprehensive picture of the buried infrastructure in your project area so you can avoid those utilities when planning where to install new lines – and we can then check your work to make sure everything remains intact once you’ve finished.
GPRS Project Manager Nate Simmons has used our video pipe inspection technology to inspect and map all sewer lines in the neighborhood before directional drilling commences.
“We’re marking out all sewers, sewer mains, and sewer laterals all the way up to each house, or as far as we’re able to go with our equipment,” Simmons explained. “Then we’re marking our findings with spray paint and flags.”
GPRS utilizes state-of-the-art, remote-controlled sewer pipe inspection rovers to map wastewater infrastructure and inspect it for cross bores, clogs, inflow/infiltration, and other defects. These crawlers are equipped with sondes: instrument probes that our Project Managers can detect from the surface using electromagnetic (EM) locators so they can map the systems at the same time they’re evaluating their condition.
To locate the rest of the buried utilities in the neighborhood, GPRS Project Managers deploy a combination of EM locating and ground penetrating radar (GPR).
EM locators detect the electromagnetic signals radiating from metallic pipes and cables. These signals can come from the current flow in a live electrical cable, or a conductive pipe acting as an antenna and re-radiating signals from stray electrical fields and communications transmissions. They can also be created by the locator’s transmitter applying current to the pipe.
GPR scanners emit radio signals into the ground or a concrete slab, then detect the interactions between these signals and any buried objects such as utilities, underground storage tanks, or structural supports like rebar and post tension cable.
Utilizing our entire suite of subsurface investigation services, GPRS has been able to keep this utility undergrounding project from suffering any delays or catastrophic accidents caused by subsurface damage. Simmons explained that he and his teammates are also able to adjust their plans to accommodate the client’s needs, responding rapidly to wherever we’re needed.
“We change up our day-to-day plans based on what they want to complete,” he said.
From sewer lines to skyscrapers, GPRS Intelligently Visualizes The Built World® to keep your projects on time, on budget, and safe.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What type of informational output is provided when GPRS conducts a utility locate?
Our Project Managers flag and paint our findings directly on the surface. This method of communication is the most accurate form of marking when excavation is expected to commence within a few days of service.
GPRS also uses a global positioning system (GPS) to collect data points of findings. We use this data to generate a plan, KMZ file, satellite overlay, or CAD file to permanently preserve results for future use. GPRS does not provide land surveying services. If you need land surveying services, please contact a professional land surveyor. Please contact us to discuss the pricing and marking options your project may require.
Can you find PVC piping and other non-conductive utilities?
GPR scanning is exceptionally effective at locating all types of subsurface materials. There are times when PVC pipes do not provide an adequate signal to ground penetrating radar equipment and can’t be properly located by traditional methods. However, GPRS Project Managers are expertly trained in multiple methods of utility locating, including electromagnetic (EM) locating.
What deliverables does GPRS offer when conducting a sewer pipe inspection?
GPRS is proud to offer WinCan reporting to our Video Pipe Inspection clients. Maintaining sewers starts with understanding sewer condition, and WinCan allows GPRS Project Managers to collect detailed, NASSCO-compliant inspection data. GPRS Project Managers not only inspect the interior condition of sewer pipes, laterals, and manholes – they can also provide a map of their location. The GPRS Mapping & Modeling Department can provide detailed GPS overlays and CAD files. Our detailed WinCan/NASSCO reports contain screenshots of the interior condition of the pipe segments that we inspect, as well as a video file for further evaluation, documentation, and/or reference.
