When you have to dig up your yard and find out what’s below the surface, the last thing you want to do is start digging and discover that you’ve hit a buried utility line or pipe. Fortunately, there are ways to locate these underground utilities without causing damage. Here are some options:
How to Locate Underground Utilities Yourself?
Below, you’ll find a few ways to locate underground utilities.
Call your local utility companies
Call your local utility companies. If you’re planning to dig in your yard, you must call the utility companies and let them know what you’re doing. They can help you determine where their underground utilities are located and mark them on-site for a small fee (less than $100).
Locate your local utilities
You can locate underground utilities by:
- You are calling your local utility company. This is usually the easiest option, but it may not be the most efficient. It also helps to know which utilities are located in your area before calling them. If you still have questions about what’s underground, contact the city or county government and ask for information on any utility lines that might run under your property.
- They are contacting the police department, fire department, or water department for more information on nearby utility lines and their locations beneath your property. These agencies can provide helpful information about where gas pipes are located and whether they’re buried deep enough to pose a risk when digging near them (which could cause an explosion).
Use a GPR (ground penetrating radar)
GPR, or ground-penetrating radar, is a device that uses radio waves to locate utilities underground. It does this by measuring the time these radio waves travel through the soil and then return to the device. The difference between this time is how GPR determines what types of objects are on the earth based on how far they penetrate the ground.
It can be used to find water, sewer, electrical, and cable TV lines. If you want more information on how GPR works or are interested in purchasing one for yourself, I recommend checking out [this website](https://www.gprradar.com/).
Rent a fiber optic cable locator
You’ll need a particular type of locator to find fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable is used for high-speed data transfer, so it’s not uncommon to see them hidden underground. It can be challenging to locate these cables because they’re often installed in maintenance holes or areas with many utilities.
To detect the presence of fiber optic cable, use a fiber optic locator (also known as an optical fault locator). This device uses light from a laser to detect the location of installed optical fibers inside a wall or other structure.
Send a radio signal
Now that you know how to locate underground utilities, you can use a radio signal to find them. A radio signal is a form of electromagnetic radiation that travels through the air. When it hits an underground utility, it is reflected in your detector, sending another signal. This process continues until the utility has been located and identified by its unique frequency profiles (see table below).
Conclusion
There are many options if you are looking for a way to locate underground utilities. The most common ones include calling your local utility company and asking them to find their lines using GPR or a fiber optic cable locator. If you don’t want to spend any money on equipment or service fees, then you can send out radio signals from different locations around your house until one of them picks up an underground line.
