UESI April Webinar: Reducing Damages To Underground Utilities During Horizontal Directional Drilling

Samuel T. Ariaratnam, Ph.D., P.E., P.Eng., F.ASCE, F.ISTT, FCAE, NAC. Population growth in urban centers worldwide has resulted in an increase in the installation of underground utility systems. To minimize impacts to surface activities, the use of trenchless construction methods has been more common, especially in urban environments. One such technique, Horizontal
Directional Drilling (HDD), enables the installation of a wide range of underground utilities including water, sewer, electrical, telecommunications, natural gas, and petroleum pipelines. Unfortunately, HDD installations occasionally strike existing utilities, with these potentially resulting in loss of revenue to the utility or personal injury. For example, striking a natural gas
distribution can result in the escaping gas migrating to a nearby building and resulting in an explosion. This presentation describes the HDD process, applications, and recommended prudent practices for reducing damages to existing underground utilities.