Know What’s Below – 4 Steps to Safe Digging

By Mike Sullivan, President, Utility Safety Partners

Approximately 850 individual buried utility companies have registered the location of their buried assets with Utility Safety Partners but only provincial and federal transmission pipeline regulators – the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Canada Energy Regulator – require registering those governed pipelines with Utility Safety Partners. All other buried utility operators register their assets with USP voluntarily. 

To ensure all buried infrastructure in the vicinity of your digging project is identified prior to disturbing the ground, follow these steps.

Step 1: Submit your locate request online or by phone

To request that buried utilities on your property be located and marked, submit a request online anytime at ClickBeforeYouDig or call 1-800-242-3447 (Monday to Friday, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.). Plan ahead and place your request at least three full working days before you start your project.

Step 2: Wait for the locate to be completed

Once you have submitted your request, the utility owners are responsible for contacting you. There are three ways your request can be resolved:

1. The utility owner may contact you and let you know that there are no buried utilities located in your dig space. They are obligated to provide this information in writing as well.
2. The utility owner may mark the buried lines on your property. In this case, they will provide you with documentation explaining the markings and how to proceed.
3. The utility owner may contact you to schedule a time to meet at the dig location. For example, if your dig location is located behind a locked fence, you will need to arrange to meet the locator on site.

Step 3: Identify any customer-owned utility lines

Customer-owned lines, such as water and sewer service lines, sprinkler systems, and any lines connecting buildings on a property, are not registered with Utility Safety Partners. The utility owners do not know the location of these lines, so it is your responsibility to identify them.

Contact a private locator to mark any customer-owned utilities in your dig area. A list of some of the location service providers in your area can be found here.

Step 4: Dig with care

Locate markings identify the approximate location of buried utilities and do not identify the depth of the line. If you’re digging within one metre on either side of the markings (or five metres from high pressure pipelines), carefully expose the line with hand tools to determine its exact location and depth. If you have questions about digging close to a utility, contact the utility owner.

Find additional resources and information in the learning centre.