Does 811 locate private utilities?

No. 811 typically marks public utilities only. Private utilities such as private water lines, sewer laterals, septic systems, irrigation, propane, and private electrical lines are usually not included.

What is private utility locating?

Private utility locating identifies underground utilities located beyond the public connection point, including private water, sewer, septic, electrical, and other privately owned lines.

Can you locate PVC or non-metallic utilities?

Yes. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is commonly used to locate non-metallic utilities such as PVC and clay pipes, especially when tracer wire is not present.

Can you locate septic tanks and drain fields?

Yes. Septic system locating, including septic tanks and drain fields, is a common service for property planning, repairs, and replacements.

How accurate is utility locating?

Utility locating provides approximate utility locations. Depth, soil conditions, and utility material can affect results. Verification by potholing is recommended before excavation.

Do you provide utility locating near me?

Yes. Twin City Locating provides mobile private utility locating and GPR services throughout Southwest Washington, including multiple counties and surrounding rural areas.

Services | Twin City Locating

Services

Twin City Locating, LLC is known for its high quality underground locating services such as:

Oil Tank/Underground Storage Tank Searches
Sewer Scope
Plastic Pipe Locating
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) for Utility Lines and Cesspools
Concrete Scanning GPR
Mainline Inspection Robot
Private Utility Locating – Power Lines – Water Lines – Sewer Lines – Etc.

We can also locate:

Lost irrigation solenoids
Metal pipes and rods such as can be used as property stakes or ground rods

We have easy to use online booking available for locations in Lewis County, Thurston County, Mason County, Grays Harbor County, Pacific County, and Cowlitz County. Please call if your location is outside this area.

Private Utility Locating – $90 / hour

Our Private Utility Locator Services can help you find the location of a buried electrical wires, discover where the water pipe goes if you have access to the pipe and can cut access into it allowing a traceable rodder to be inserted, locate a sewer line, and much more. If you want to create a utility layout for your home or jobsite there is no better choice than Twin City Locating. We are local, and provide locates throughout Washington with the primary service out of Centralia, serving Lewis County, Thurston County, Grays Harbor County, Pacific County, Cowlitz County, Mason County, and beyond.

We can sometimes work in same day appointments in the late afternoon or evening and are available weekends as well at no additional charge, call us today at (360)720-3333 to find out!

See subject specific pages on: electrical wire locator services, water line locating, sewer pipe locating, gas pipe locating, the limitations of radio wave detection, and some differences between public locating and private locating.

When digging or performing any kind of excavation, state law requires you to call 811 to locate public utilities. This is a free service offered by utility owners. The problem most people face, is that the end of the public utility ends at the meter, and sometimes the transformer or main line, but not the end of the utility line itself. Hiring a private locator company like Twin City Locating will help you trace your water, gas, sewer, or power line past this point so you can be certain where the line is located, and how deep the line runs.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) Utility Scans – $125 / hour with a 2-hour minimum.

GPR can be used to scan for utilities that cannot otherwise be located through traditional electromagnetic or radio detection locating. We use a modern technological 450MHz antenna to locate object up to 10′ below the ground surface in ideal conditions. Learn more about GPR.

Concrete Scanning GPR for flooring, such as driveway rebar or other ground based spots when cutting concrete is needed to access underground for repairs of utilities, we can often find those with GPR as well.

Locating Sewer Pipes – $90 / hour.

We can locate sewer lines, septic lines, and sewer laterals up to 100' in length from a 4″ or greater cleanout access in good conditions. There is a $50 per cleanout fee to each additional cleanout accesses for further or additional lines. For septic, GPR is typically needed for drain or leech field and tank locations. If GPR is needed for additional uses, the GPR price will be used, and this service will be included (but additional cleanouts if needed will still be assessed).

Plastic Water Pipe Locating Services – $90 / hour.

Twin City Locating can locate plastic water pipes in a few different ways. One, is if there is an access to fish a traceable rodder through a open end of a water line and locate this up to 100' in length. If there is a tracer wire, we utilize EM locating to perform conductive locating on that tracer wire. If the water line is conductive (such as copper or ductal iron), we can directly connect to the water pipe to locate.

If this does not work, GPR is the resulting solution.

Heating Oil Tank / Underground Storage Tank Searches – $150

The heating oil or underground storage tank search usually will take between 30-90 minutes, with a base cost of $150 within City of Centralia city limits and a travel fee of $40 per 15 minutes from Centralia City Hall, and has instant results.

We search the whole yard with multiple detectors, check the crawlspace or basement, and investigate signs of potential old lines that could be used as vents or oil lines. Reports can often be provided the same day, or by the next day. This service is mostly for new buyers of homes, wishing to verify there are no underground tanks as was common "back in the day" and can be costly for their required decommissioning.

Call (360)720-3333 or click here to schedule Online at anytime of day. See the ‘About Oil Tank Locating’ page for more information on tank searches.

Cesspool Locating and Septic Tank Locating – $250 ($125 / Hour with 2 hour min.)

Twin City Locating can find many sanitary systems but not every home’s system can be located using our tools. We can perform a search for your cesspool/septic tank if the house does not have a basement with water service. Please call us at (360)720-3333 to see if this service is right for you.

Metal Bar/ Stake searching – $90 / hour

We use a magnetic locator, which is more accurate than a simple metal detector, to search for and mark metal bars and stakes in the area such as property pins, ground rods, or buried valves and manhole covers, and some septic lids.

Additional Services

Oil tanks aren’t the only thing we can find for you. Because we have a variety of industrial metal detectors some of our other services include locating, tracing, or searching for buried:

Private power lines
Cables
Conduits
Manhole covers
Vault covers
Water lines
Iron capped or cased Cesspools
Metal Septic tanks
Iron Capped Drywells
Metallic property markers
Cast iron sewer cleanouts
Mapping the path any metallic or conductive object
General metal detecting looking for anything present and marking rough location

We can work with you to meet your scheduling needs! Contact us if you have needs or a special project after hours, away from town, for extended times, or just to see if we can help.