A Utility Survey or Underground Survey is a survey that identifies any below ground cables or pipes in order to locate water, power, fibre optics, drainage, sewage, gas and telecommunications beneath the area that is being surveyed. The detection and mapping of utilities surveys can be one of the most beneficially proactive surveys done before a building project.
How is a Utilities Survey Conducted?
Utilities surveying requires the use of non-intrusive instruments. The use of these instruments prevents the need to dig underground in order to locate utilities.
To conduct a utility survey, both radio detection & GPR is used to send signals into the ground, which enables an image of the below surface features to be created.
Objects underneath the ground, such as pipelines or cables will bounce the radio pulses or signals back. This data is then stored in the GPR’s control unit, whereby the signals that have bounced back will be displayed as a different band. Ultimately, these signals display as different bands, and they allow our surveyors to assess the full below-ground picture.
What Are Utilities Surveys Used For?
As previously discussed, utilities surveys are used prior to a project to locate both underground pipelines and cables, to ensure that none of these services are interfered with or damaged during any construction or excavation work. Findings from a utilities survey are commonly cross referenced with existing records for maximum accuracy.
What Are the Benefits of a Utilities Survey?
Non-intrusive
As previously discussed, utilities surveys do not require the ground to be dug up to locate pipes or cables, instead it uses non-intrusive measuring instruments that cause little disruption.
Cost and Time Savings
The biggest benefit of using a utilities survey for your project is that it can have a significant reduction in terms of cost and time spent. The failure to identify the locations of buried services before a development takes place can result in increased project costs and delays, as well as serious health and safety implications. Construction companies are often liable for any damage that is caused due to their project.
Improved Health and Safety
Having a utilities survey conducted prior to a project starting is beneficial for the health and safety of workers, as not knowing where utilities, such as electricity cables and metal pipes, are located increases the risk of a worker striking an object and causing serious harm.
Future Development Opportunities
Having a utilities survey conducted on a location or property is beneficial, as this information can be stored and used again for future development projects.
What can you expect from our surveys?
At Landform Surveys, we use radio detection and ground penetrating radar techniques in order to locate underground utilities. We then accurately map findings and results are supplied in CAD format.
If your next project requires an underground utilities survey, then be sure to get in touch with our experienced surveyors to find out how we can help.
