Damages in Alberta – What’s the REAL Story?

Damages in Alberta – What’s the REAL Story?

 

The Canadian Common Ground Alliance recently released the 2021 Damage Information Reporting Tool Report (DIRT Report). Utility Safety Partners’ Contact Centre Manager, Josef Rosenberg, is the current Chair of the CCGA Damage Reporting and Evaluation Committee and primary author of the report. 

Each year when the CCGA publishes its report, I am asked the same question "Why are there so many damages in Alberta compared to other provinces – especially those with greater population?” 

It’s natural to compare but that’s not why the CCGA produces this report – a cornerstone of its longstanding mandate. The report analyzes the root cause of damages and provides subject matter experts with the ability to develop best and better practices to prevent a recurrence. But, inevitably, the same logical question will come, "Why are there so many damages in Alberta compared to everywhere else?”

 

Damages (and near hits) to federally regulated transmission pipelines, and damages to provincially regulated transmission pipelines, must be reported to their respective regulator and those damages also appear in the DIRT Report. All other damages are voluntarily reported. So, with over 440,000 kilometres of federally and provincially regulated pipelines throughout Alberta, the likelihood of more damages occurring in the province is higher than anywhere else in the country. But that’s not the only reason more damages are reported in Alberta.  

There are 71 Registered DIRT Submitters in Alberta - second highest to Ontario (79 registered submitters) – a province with triple the population and triple the number of locate requests. In contrast, Quebec and British Columbia, with populations of 8.5 million and 5 million respectively, have relatively few registered DIRT submitters (7 and 20) and significantly fewer reported damages (927 and 1,282). 

At USP’s request, a new table, Registered DIRT Submitters by Province (Table 11 on page 21 of 30), was added to the report this year to add context to the number of damages reported in each province. The new data also illustrates the ongoing challenge of data collection across the country. To achieve better results, the provincial chapters of the Common Ground Alliance in Canada need more registered submitters. 

In my view, the high number of damages reported in Alberta is actually a positive reflection of the confidence damage prevention stakeholders have in the damage prevention process in Alberta. Only by reporting damages into DIRT can we collectively analyze and develop methods to prevent a recurrence.

To everyone who has registered with DIRT, thank you, and keep doing what you’re doing! If you haven’t, please SIGN UP today!

Mike Sullivan

President – Utility Safety Partners