Best practice for identifying underground cold water services before excavation work?

• A. Use a generic map and proceed without locating devices.
• B. Ignore utility marks and proceed.
• C. Call a 911 for hazard.
• D. Contact the water utility for service maps, use locating devices, and hand-dig with care to avoid striking services.

Answer: (D)

Before you dig near underground cold water lines, the safest approach is to contact the water utility to obtain current service maps, use locating devices to locate and mark the lines, and then hand-dig with care to verify exact location and depth. Maps can be outdated or incomplete, and utilities may have added or moved pipes since the last record. Locating devices help detect the actual underground conductors, reducing the risk of striking a line. Hand-digging near the marked area allows you to carefully expose the pipe and confirm depth without heavy machinery that could cause damage if a line is hit. Always rely on utility marks and careful excavation rather than assumptions or unmarked digging.