Planning your work

Identifying underground pipes and cables

Damaging electricity cables, gas pipes or water pipes can put you, your colleagues and the public at risk.  

We want you to stay safe when working near utility networks.  

To protect yourself and avoid damaging our assets, check utility asset maps and use cable detection tools to identify the exact location of underground infrastructure before you start excavating. 

You can access utility asset maps online through LinesearchbeforeUdig (LSBUD). The free service lets you access plans from multiple asset owners at once, rather than contacting each utility company separately.   

If you need more detail about our maps or you need plans for a site under construction, please contact us directly for maps of our utility networks. We can also help you by supervising excavation work near our infrastructure on a case-by-case basis.  

Damage prevention

How to dig safely

Before starting any building work or construction at your site, you need to know where utility cables and pipes are buried. As well as referring to utility asset maps, you should also follow these steps.

Follow HSE guidance

All contractors and developers should follow Health and Safety Executive HSG47 guidance on avoiding danger from underground services.

Look for marker posts

Check for marker posts and street furniture to help locate existing utility assets.

Use cable detection tools

Use a CAT and Genny to identify all nearby pipes and cables before starting work.

Assume pipes are live

Assume all utility services are live until proven otherwise.

Dig trial holes

Consider hand-digging trial holes to confirm the location of all utilities before using electrical or mechanical tools.

If in doubt, stop

If you’re not 100% sure where our assets are located, stop work immediately and contact us.

FAQs

Help and advice

What do I do if I damage an electricity cable, gas pipe or water pipe?

If you hit one of our electricity cables, move away from the excavation and call us on 105 or 0800 011 4193.

If you damage a gas pipe or smell gas, call the National Gas Emergency Service immediately on 0800 111 999.

If you hit one of our water pipes or spot a water leak, report it to us on 0800 011 4193.

How do I find out where your utility assets are located?

Before you start digging, it’s vital you check the location of all underground pipes by accessing a utility asset map of your site from LinesearchbeforeUdig.

If you need information about our assets on a site that’s under construction, please contact us directly for our network plans.