Who is familiar with Cable Locater Services? Something odd to report.

[Baitball Blogger]

For those who don't know, if you plan to do digging in your yard, you call in a locater service to find the power cables that might run through your yard, to avoid getting electrocuted. Fine service, but I witnessed something odd and wondered if this particular employee went beyond what normally happens when they come on property.

1) I didn't order the service. My neighbor did.

2) The USIC guy did come and ring our doorbell early in the a.m. to let us know he was there. "Your neighbor plans to have work done in his yard, I don't know what it is, maybe remove a tree."

3) He spray painted the lines in the sideyard between our houses, coming up to the first structure of our home.

4) Now the odd thing. Our cameras picked up that he walked to a box attached to the side of our house, used some kind of sensor, probably trying to determine if it was electrical, followed by a screwdriver, and finally a wrench. He went to that area at least five times. After the first time, he made a beeline to my neighbor who was supervising from a distance from his front yard. The security camera captured the physical interaction. The boxes attached to my house were definitely the subject of conversation because the guy kept pointing to our house.

5) My hubby checked the area and found two boxes where the guy was working. One was the old phone analog box that we no longer use. He found two washers on top of that box. So, I surmise that the guy didn't put it all back together again. The other box is an electrical box that goes to an atrium. And that's it.

My question, is this level of snooping normal? Don't these locater services just mark the lines between the houses without further intrusion? It just seems odd that he would go to report what he found to my neighbor, unless my neighbor specifically asked him for info.

And, no, nothing good will come from starting a discourse with the neighbor. So please don't bring it up.

[RKP5637]

1. Sometimes cables, etc. cross yards. ... probably checking to see if your supply cables, etc.

run through your neighbors yard. I've used cable locating services many times for residential and commercial property. In my area one of the main fiber cables for the community runs across my front yard. Other neighbors have similar ... Another place I lived the main power lines for the community ran under my side yard under very thick concrete.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Well, they don't.

And this isn't the first time they called the service.

[RKP5637]

4. Interesting. n/t

[Bayard]

2. We've had to do this several times

When putting up fencing, or digging the pond.

There's no reason he needs to come on your property at all, unless they are marking the entire line for new construction or road work. Doesn't sound like that's the case here. I think I'd call the power company and ask them, especially with him messing around your house.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. I was planning to send a clip to the power company AND the locater service.

They can identify the serviceman that way.

Also, the water meter guy told us months ago that our water meter stopped working. It was old, anyways, so we were not surprised. I thought they replaced it. I just want to make sure that nothing improper occurred with this onsite visit.

[Meadowoak]

6. On the old analog telephone line, he just attached a device

That sends a signal through that line, so he can detect if it comes through the neighbor's yard. Since it's a dead line, he wouldn't be able to detect it otherwise. I wouldn't be too concerned.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Thank you!

[Locrian]

7. One was the old phone analog box that we no longer use.

Probably there's a line cutting across his yard to your old analog telephone line - that may be where he wants to dig or?
He (the tech) may have been trying to figure out if its still live or whether its just "there" taking a dirt nap.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Based on the spray painted lines, there is nothing reaching out from one house to the other.

[Sneederbunk]

10. You have become a victim of the Deep State

[Baitball Blogger]

11. On the contrary.

I think this might be a case of drive-by good ole boying.

Just because the service people work for large companies, private or governmental, doesn't mean the company is aware of all the good buddying that goes on with their workers.

[drray23]

12. No matter what he is not supposed to come on your property

He was trespassing. There is no reason for him to check anything on your property. Their job is to map out the underground cables where work is going to be done, in this case, on your neighbor's property.

[Meadowoak]

13. It is a dead line, the only way to be sure it doesn't run through

The neighbor's yard, is to open the service box, and put a signal generator on it. If it does indeed run through the neighbor's yard, he would mark the area (in the neighbor's yard) where the underground cable is.

[Baitball Blogger]

14. Why can't he find an underground cable without this step?

Because, it sure does sound like he's checking out the boxes on the wall on my house to try to track them.

[Meadowoak]

15. Any energized lines will be detected by his locating equipment,

Since yours isn't energized, he needed to attach a signal generator to be able to find it.

[Baitball Blogger]

16. I'm still going to pass the info on to the proper parties.

Something here, just isn't adding up.

[Meadowoak]

17. Say in 6 months from now, you wanted to put a land line back

In your house, only to find out that your line had been cut in the neighbor's yard while they were doing construction. Guess who is responsible for that line repair and landscaping damage? The locating company. I wouldn't suspect anything nefarious, otherwise the worker wouldn't have came and told you he would be also in your yard.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

18. Being familiar with the subject

A part of installing the lines, either power, cable TV, or telephone, is to tie their ground conductors all together electrically, in case of a lightning strike. To locate each of them individually, the grounds have to be separated, as the locator signal is attached to the ground conductor. Without isolating them, you will not be able to get an accurate location of each line.

[dembotoz]

19. diggers hotline is a wonderful thing as it is called around here

folks have put cables and pipes where i would not have expected.

I am not one to dig up the yard but i did remember to avoid a patch of the garden when it was time to bury a family cat.