Comment on Two UK water companies lack complete maps of sewage networks
echodot@feddit.uk 2 months agoWhenever groundwork is done you’re supposed to apply for some kind of permit and part of that process is that they’re supposed to tell you if there’s any underground utilities.
I can’t count the number of times though that our engineers have dug up a fiber line or something that we would demonstrably told was not there. It’s great because sometimes you can see on the pavement that it’s being dug up and resurfaced in a different material so there’s obviously something down there, but the paperwork says, nope we just dug it up for no reason there’s nothing down there go mad.
Tweak@feddit.uk 2 months ago
You don’t apply for a permit, you go to LinesearchbeforeUdig - lsbud.co.uk. This is a free service anyone can use, and you’ll get emails from various asset owners with maps of what they have in the area you select. Some might try to charge for this, these ones are assholes.
As far as the law is concerned, it’s up to you to make sure you do it right and the costs for doing it wrong will all fall on your shoulders.
The only permit you need AFAIK is planning permission - which won’t be granted until you convince them you’ve done a sufficient line search. Aside from that, you need permission from the land owner, of course.