locating buried utilities

Locating Buried Utilities

Surveys for Locating Buried Utilities - GPR

On many sites, the location of buried utility lines is unknown. A geophysical survey method, ground penetrating radar (GPR), can be conducted for locating buried utilities, including cables. The GPR survey is non-destructive, and locating buried utilities is quick and effective compared to probing or drilling methods.

The buried utilities can be made of metal, plastic, PVC, cable, or any other material that has different electrical or conductive properties than the surrounding subsurface soils or rocks. The GPR antennas, used for transmission of the radar signal for locating buried utilities, can be vehicle-towed or hand-towed as shown below:

Vehicle-towed GPR Hand-towed GPR

Vehicle-towed GPR and Hand-towed GPR

A typical response for locating buried utilities using GPR is shown below:

Electromagnetic Conductivity Surveys

If the buried utilities are made of metal, and are located away from other metal objects, electromagnetic conductivity (EM) and metal detection surveys can be conducted for locating buried utilities or cables. Geophysicists operating the EM-31 and EM-61 instruments and results of an EM survey are shown below:

Hand-carried EM-31 survey EM-31 EM-61 survey instrument EM-61 Click image

Other buried metal objects, such as buried drums, underground storage tanks (USTs), and UXOs can also be easily located with the EM-31 and EM-61 instruments.

To have a survey conducted for locating buried utilities and cables, contact:

e-mail:surveys@geophysicalsurveys.com

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