FEATURED PROJECT PROFILE:

Hammonton Water Department

In order to complete remediation activities associated with a former coal gas facility, select utilities at the Water Department property needed to be relocated. A combination of instruments including...

In order to locate subsurface utilities, ACER utilizes a wide variety of equipment. On most typical utility locating surveys, ACER uses a RadioDetection RD8100 locator and TX-10 transmitter for utility line location and tracing. The RD8100 supports a very large range of locatable, active and passive frequencies.

Passive frequency takes advantage of signals already present on buried metallic conductors. The RD8100 supports four (4) types of passive frequencies: Power, Radio, CPS, and CATV signals. These frequencies can be detected without the aid of the transmitter if they are present on the utility being surveyed.
Active frequencies are applied directly to a buried conductor using the transmitter. The transmitter can apply a signal using induction or direct connection. For induction, the transmitter is placed on the ground over or near the survey area. The appropriate frequency is selected, which the transmitter induces indiscriminately to any nearby metallic conductor. For direct connection, the transmitter is connected directly to the pipe or cable. The transmitter applies a discrete signal to the line, which can be traced using the locator.

Locating Underground Utilities
Tracing Lines Within Buildings
Utility Mapping
Boring Clearance/Damage Prevention

Using sondes, the RD8100 can also be used to pinpoint joints in iron gas pipes, locate blockages in plastic water pipes, and monitor the progress of horizontal boring tools. A sonde is a small battery powered signal transmitter that can be inserted into non-metallic ducts, drains, or sewers so they can be located and traced with a locator.

When necessary, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) may also be used for locating underground utilities. ACER’s collection of Ground Penetrating Radar systems range from 200MHz to 2,700MHz, which can identify utilities at significant depths as well as shallow utilities embedded in or below concrete.

When non-electroconductive utilities (PVC, plastic, etc.) require locating, an acoustic locating method can be applied to the utility in question. Due to the ability of these pipes being able to transmit mechanical vibrations better than the earth that surrounds them, these utilities can transmit mechanical vibrations induced by a mechanical ‘knocker’ or pulse transmitter. The mechanical vibrations can then be located using a ground-coupled microphone. This method can also be used to locate fiber cement pipes and metal pipes in the appropriate conditions.

Upon completion of a Utility Locating survey, ACER can provide reports and/or maps of the findings of the survey. Detailed maps can be created using a GPS collection system with sub-centimeter accuracy. From there, all location data can be uploaded and mapped in ArcGIS Pro to provide high-quality utility mapping reports.