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How to Find Something without Excavating

November 2, 2015 by Derek Rippe

GeoModel-Utility-LocatorThere are more than 20 million miles of underground utilities in the U.S. Those are enough buried lines and pipes to equal a football field for every American man, woman and child. Every 6 minutes, one of those buried lines or pipes is damaged because someone was excavating without knowing the utility line was there. If you need to find utility lines under your private business, church, school property, or facility, and want to avoid catastrophic mistakes, you need to know where the utility lines are, even if you’re only excavating a few feet down. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic conductivity (EM), and multi-frequency surveys are your best bet to pinpoint what’s buried underground prior to excavation.

Utility and Pipeline Locating Services Save Time and Headaches

Utility lines can be placed at varying depths and even if you have an idea where they are buried, it saves time and headaches to be exact than to be off by more than a foot or two. Without proper identification, current or abandoned utilities could be damaged or severed, which in turn can cause expensive and serious damage to your property and/or facilities. Inflicting the least amount of damage and being proactive on the job site is essential and can be accomplished efficiently and accurately with a utility and pipeline location service, like GeoModel.

“We are certified professional geologists that use the latest technology to help you avoid excavating in the wrong place,” says Paula Turner of GeoModel, Inc.

Combining GPR, EM and Multifrequency Surveys Ensures Accuracy

GeoModel, Inc. has helped hundreds of business owners, energy delivering companies, engineering firms and others locate underground pipelines and utilities. Turner says they often use a combination of GPR, EM and multifrequency surveys to get the most accurate results. That’s because GPR shows the ground surface at the top of the profile, and the reflections of subsurface geologic units and objects to a certain depth at the bottom. In certain types of soil, like those heavy in clay, GPR’s depth range can be limited, says Turner. That’s when the EM survey can be particularly useful in developing a complete picture.

“EM surveys are rapid and very accurate. The instruments are easily carried or moved around the site and are used for a variety of purposes,” says Turner. “We use the latest EM detection unit, which is twice as accurate as the standard version,” she continues.

EM can identify and locate underground metal petroleum tanks, metal underground utility pipes, contaminated groundwater and clay units. Metal and conductive pipes and conditions are particularly matched to the EM method.

Multi-frequency methods used by GeoModel, Inc. complement the GPR and EM methods by detecting any utility or pipeline that carries a frequency or that can have a frequency applied to it.  GeoModel often locates at least 1/3 more buried utilities than other locating companies using multi-frequency.

Quick and Cost-Effective

With the data from the GPR, the EM, and multi-frequency surveys, GeoModel provides its clients with accurate mark-outs and EM survey maps of the location of buried utilities and pipelines and other things buried on their property that they may not have even suspected were there. Their ability to quickly transmit, analyze and map the EM data makes them a particularly cost-effective choice for large industrial sites and even smaller businesses.

“We get the job done quickly and accurately, while helping our clients meet all of the legal and regulatory requirements on site,” says Turner.

For more information on how you can protect your property and facilities by getting a GPR, EM and/or multifrequency survey done prior to the date you plan to excavate, contact GeoModel, Inc. today.

Filed Under: Articles

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All GPR surveys are conducted or supervised by:

  • Certified Professional Geologists with More Than 20 Years of Experience
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  • What is Ground Penetrating Radar
  • Utility Location
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  • Underground Storage Tank Detection and Buried Drum Detection
  • Geology, Bedrock and Geologic Hazards
  • Landfill Detection, Burial Trench Delineation, and Contaminant Plume Mapping
  • Concrete and Rebar Inspection
  • Archaeological and Environmental Studies
  • Brine Pits, Reserve Pits, Leaking Brine Pipes

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