OT:Locating utility lines

Geo-TH,In · Apr 26, 2012

Where I live, we are required to call 800 dig people to locate lines 48 hours before we dig. I did that. Guess how far off the water company was? The water company was the one that marked the 8 inch main line too. No harm, just got very lucky. The water company then told me that they could be off by that much and if I damaged their line it would have been my fault because I should have been digging it by hand. Yea, right. What a learning experience.

rrlund · Apr 26, 2012

My brother's in the excavating business. He says if you hit anything within 10 feet of their mark,you're liable.

Two Dogs · Apr 26, 2012

Good grief! What's the point of a locate then? When I was locating natural gas lines for our fair city a few years ago we had to be within 24 inches. I wore out several pipe horns and wore the label off a couple of shovels. Most times we would be with the excavator until it was uncovered or else spot the line with post-hole diggers if possible. We helped in any way we could. We didn't like fixing broken gas lines.

TDF

Geo-TH,In · Apr 26, 2012

You are right, 24 inches. Like I said, today was a learning activity. What's the point of having them mark the lines. Just do a drive by and spray some paint out the window.

thurlow · Apr 26, 2012

Still gotta call 'em, but I always do the "L" shaped wires thing, also. Marked my field lines last week. Never been off by more than a foot.

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rrlund · Apr 26, 2012

We were dealing with a fiber opric cable out in front of my place when we put a new water line in a year and a half ago. They say if you hit one of those,you might as well just leave your check book and the deed to the farm on the table and move away. So you can imagine how nervous we were trying to deal with the 10 foot thing on that puppy.

Errin OH · Apr 26, 2012

I was thinking they told me 36 (18 each way) but that may have been 48 (24 each way).

Needles to say, when I cut the 50 pair phone line it didn't cost me a dime. They were off by almost 8 feet.

I do not know how they were locating it, but 6 months later the rural water district cut it too. Again they were of about 8 feet.

buickanddeere · Apr 26, 2012

We see a lot of hydro-blaster trucks used around here for trenching.

Anonymous-0 · Apr 26, 2012

That's why it is always advisable, to have several spray cans, if marking paint, to revise the marks, as you hit the various utilities!

Rollie NE PA · Apr 26, 2012

My road crew and our guide rail crew were installing guide rail along a water filtration plant. We had called PA One Call to locate everything along the berm of the road. We recieved a confirmation number to procede with the work. We had driven about 20 post when we had a problem getting one to the proper depth, and we thought we had hit a large rock. The operator of the post driver took the ram all the way up and let it drop. The post dropped 3 feet at once. Yep, we drove it thru a 3' cast iron water main. It was not active at the time. We called the water co. and told them what had happened. Well they did not mark the line. We did not have to pay for the repair but it took their welder 3 days to weld all the pieces back in place.

Mark - IN. · Apr 26, 2012

I do believe that he is correct. They will give I think 36", where they will say "We could be off 18" either way", depending upon where live, leaving you under the impression that if you go by their markings and leeway, AND then turn around and pound you for going by their markings, in accordance with the laws, and you STILL be liable if they are off by feet, several feet. I do believe that he is correct. Not nice, should not be, but somehow...

Be very careful.

Mark

Glenn Warner · Apr 26, 2012

George ,
I am an excavating contractor in the western finger lakes area , I call dig safe NY for all utility locations. when they mark them out you're responsible for anything that happens to any pipes,wires,conduits waterlines,sewer lines etc for two feet each side of actual utility marker.If you damage the utility within that area your insurance will cover the repair, but if its outside the 2ft margin the utility will cry foul but they can go pound rock salt .If it dont look right when you start digging document markers with photos. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Glenn

northvale · Apr 26, 2012

this method works. I use it all the time. I saw a guy locate a terra cotta line that was dry. My wife knows how too.

Ralph Bauer · Apr 27, 2012

Here in OK, you gotta call at least 48 hours ahead of you digging (811?). And the marking is legally only good for 10 days. If you need to dig after 10 days from the last marking, you need to call again (with the 48 hrs lead, call after 8 days)to be legally covered. Case in point: plumper called, got it marked and due to lots of rain, started digging 12 days after marking, cut a main AT&T fiber-optic cable. Even though the marking did not show the cable, the person/company marking is only liable for 10 days after marking, he ended up having to pay to have it repaired. Had he called and they still would have "marked/affirmed" it wrongly, (SMS)they would have to foot the bill.

OT:Locating utility lines

Geo-TH,In

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rrlund

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Two Dogs

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Geo-TH,In

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thurlow

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rrlund

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Errin OH

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buickanddeere

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Anonymous-0

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Rollie NE PA

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Mark - IN.

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Glenn Warner

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northvale

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Ralph Bauer

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