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What To Do If You Hit An Underground Utility Line?

Dowd's Pipe & Cable Locating • August 19, 2021

If you're working on a DIY renovation of some kind, then there is definitely a chance that you could end up with a damaged utility line. While you should always use a professional service for any excavation on your property to avoid something like this, accidents still happen. If you do hit a utility line while doing your DIY project, this is what you must do to prevent excessive damage:

1. Clear The Area

Even if the initial strike of the utility line did not cause any major damage to the surrounding area, you must make sure nobody is close to the line in case the damage or rupture develops further. If you have any equipment that is on, make sure you turn it off before moving away. Otherwise, it could generate devastating sparks.

Getting to a safe distance is even more important if you have hit a gas line; this could result in an explosion if you are not extremely careful. A hissing sound and the scent of rotten eggs can indicate whether this was a gas line or not - but as a precaution, you should act as if this is the case.

2. Call The Relevant Authorities

With the area cleared as best as it can be, you must notify the appropriate authorities. If you believe that this could indeed be a gas leak, then that will include the gas company, or potentially even the fire department on 000.

This might seem extreme, but the alternative could be deadly, and it is better to be safe than sorry. Depending on the scale of the work you were doing, you might end up with a fine as professionals are sometimes the only ones able to do these jobs.

3. Contact A Professional Next Time

No matter the scale of the incident or the pipe you have damaged, chances are you won't attempt risky DIY methods again. The best way forward is to get in touch with the right people next time, such as a dedicated plumbing or utility service – they have the experience and the training to prevent the problems that a DIY escapade can naturally attract.

Specifically, these services have specialised equipment that can help them locate utility lines before any digging work is underway, allowing them to safely and easily avoid striking a pipe or line of any kind. Even if you used the plan of your property to figure out where to dig, plans can be inaccurate, and utility-locating technology is better at finding those unreported pipes.

If you want to undertake any kind of work on your property, then all of the relevant utilities must be found to prevent any unfortunate accidents such as the ones discussed above. At Dowd’s Pipe and Cable Locating, we have spent decades using state-of-the-art solutions to help projects across New South Wales. If you need a complete picture of your property’s utility lines, then be sure to contact us before any work begins.

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