Utility Locating Prior to Soil Boring at Container Ship Docks - Bremerton, WA

GPRS, LLC. of the Pacific Northwest was called out to provide a utility location scan by an Environmental contractor prior to drilling 4 soil borings at a busy container ship dock along the Sinclair Inlet. The Client mentioned that the dock authority did not have any plans for the private utilities that were located throughout the area. GPRS mobilized the next day, and arrived early to take part in site safety meetings and training previous to the project start. After a thorough safety plan had been organized, the scan began with a detailed visual inspection of all utility connections, pipes, and manholes within a 100’ radius of each proposed boring location. This may seem like overkill, but on a sensitive site where a utility hit cannot be afforded, all steps are taken to cover all the bases regarding the location of any utilities that could be running through each area. Passive sweeps of the drilling locations, and a GPR grid scan were then performed in each area after all other unknowns had been eliminated.

The photo above was taken of the docks to demonstrate the large, open nature of the areas that were scanned. The assumption that no utilities could be running through here could lead to a costly hit at a facility like this that would cost a great deal of time and money on such a seemly simple and small project. GPRS takes the time and effort necessary to make sure even simple projects are completed with nothing left to chance.

The photo above shows the site safety coordinator of the project, as well as the 3rd boring location which was painted in a utility clear area with red paint. The project took place in pouring rain, which made the scan more difficult with respect to marking and scanning of the wet asphalt surface. GPRS was sure to pick areas free of standing water, which could inhibit GPR depth if the water is heavy enough.

If you are in need of, or would like a free quote for any of our underground utility locating services (private or public), such as utility locating, underground storage tank locating, soil boring clearance, trench scanning, or EMI mapping in the Pacific Northwest, please contact:
Jesse Moorhouse at (206) 200-9293 or at jesse.moorhouse@gprsinc.com.