The Marine Corps Base Quantico needed to perform soil borings in 21 locations on its wastewater treatment plant premises. However, the presence of underground utilities posed a risk of damage and disruption to plant operations. RETTEW conducted a subsurface utility engineering (SUE) survey to locate and mark the utilities in a 15-foot radius around each proposed boring.

Our team took a comprehensive approach to scan the area using electromagnetic (EM), radiofrequency (RF), metal detector, and ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques. We connected to visible surface features and traced them with the EM locator, then performed a grid scan with RF, metal detector, and GPR to detect any additional utilities not traceable by EM.

RETTEW’s survey identified water, electric, storm, sanitary, and other unknown lines in the scan area and marked the lines based on the data and experience. Our survey also provided recommendations for performing the soil borings, such as using extreme caution and alternative methods like hand digging or vacuum excavation in areas where utilities were congested or unlocatable. Our SUE expertise enabled our client to perform the soil borings safely and efficiently, without causing damage or disruption to underground utilities.