Locate Underground Storm Water Pipes

Locate Underground Storm Water Pipes

Underground storm water pipes shouldn’t be too much of a problem to locate, provided you can find some above ground evidence that they’re present. Generally they’re not a conductive pipe
material so its a job for the flexible duct rodder.

How To Locate Underground Storm Water Pipes – Article Link

The best first course of action is for you to request Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) plans for the area you’re interested in. Always keep in mind that with Dial Before You Dig you aren’t likely to get any information on private services, though they are very useful for working in public areas or where mains are installed in private land.

You’ll need to do is find an access point to the pipe network, this might be a down-pipe, a kerb penetration or junction pit for example. Then the hard work begins, feeding the rod in far enough to trace past your area of interest. There can be many problems with feeding a rod into storm water or drainage pipe because they get caught on:

• Pipe bends
• Joins in pipes – even on straight lengths
• Tree roots that’ve grown into the pipe
• Dislodged pipe sections (common in VC or Vitreous clay pipes)
• Broken pipes (common in VC or Vitreous clay pipes)

If you can navigate through those issues, then you need to worry about the right rod size for the pipe. If its too large then it won’t turn through the bends in the pipe. If its too small, then it’ll curl up inside the pipe rather than push down it.
Storm water pipes can also be located with the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Failing those methods, it is possible to use environmental markers to get a strong approximation on the pipe location.