Locating Underground UtilitiesLocating Underground Utilities
Locating underground utilities without digging, probing, or drilling can be accomplished using non-destructive field surveys. The most common methods used for locating underground utilities are electromagnetic conductivity and ground penetrating radar. Both methods use equipment that is portable and can be easily mobilized to any location in the world.
Electromagnetic Conductivity Surveys
An electromagnetic conductivity (EM) survey is typically conducted to locate metal and electrical underground utilities. The EM survey is rapid and can locate metal and electrical underground utilities in a short time frame. Photos of the EM-31 and EM-61 instruments are shown below, along with an example of the results obtained from a metal detection survey that located a metal underground utility pipe:
(EM-31 Survey, EM-61 Survey, and Results of EM Survey (Click to enlarge)
GeoModel, Inc. uses the new EM-61-MK2 which is twice as accurate as the standard EM-61.
Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys
Another field survey method typically conducted for locating underground utilities is a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey. A GPR survey can be conducted over the entire site to locate metal, fiberglass, or plastic (PVC) utility pipes, or in those areas where the EM survey showed anomalous conditions for metal or electrical utilities. The GPR survey shows cross sectional information in pictorial form. The picture and image below show how a GPR survey is conducted and the results that can be obtained:
Vehicle-towed GPR, Hand-towed GPR, and GPR image (Click to enlarge)
GeoModel, Inc. conducts surveys in every state.
Contact us to check the availability of a crew in your state.
Click on your state below:
Click here for worldwide surveys
Go to Ground Penetrating Radar page