Overview

Some service laterals are exactly where you expect them to be. Others aren’t where the records say they are. Others may be completely undocumented. Older subdivisions, undocumented alterations, shared services, and legacy repairs often leave laterals buried deeper than planned, offset from the boundary, or running in unexpected directions. There may also be multiple connections servicing one property, piggy-back connections (e.g. on small sub-divisions) or completely unauthorised connections that are not in the records. These sites can consume disproportionate time and budget if you don’t plan for a structured escalation process.

A planned escalation pathway gives your field teams and contractors clear rules of engagement: how long to search at each step, when to escalate, and how to price the work. It avoids open-ended “dig around until you find it” jobs that blow out budgets and frustrate customers.

Escalation sequence 

A typical escalation sequence for locating a difficult-to-find service connection includes:

1. Trial-and-error hand digging

   • Low-impact, low-risk hand excavation in the most likely alignment zones.

   • This keeps early effort cheap and avoids unnecessary machinery if the connection is right where you expect.

2. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR)

   • If hand digging doesn’t locate the service, escalating to GPR provides a non-intrusive way to confirm the pipe’s alignment or absence.

   • GPR is especially useful in areas where private alterations have occurred or where plans are unavailable or unreliable.

3. Isolation and live-flow testing

   • Closing valves, turning water taps on/off, or using acoustic techniques can help confirm which pipe belongs to which dwelling. This is crucial in shared or interlinked private systems.

4. Machine excavation

   • Once service alignment is confirmed, or if earlier steps fail to locate the connection and deeper excavation is required, mechanical digging becomes appropriate.

   • This stage needs clear pricing rules and customer communication because cost and disruption increase sharply.

Benefits of Planning a Hierarchy Approach Upfront

• • avoids uncontrolled cost escalation for you and the customer

  • speeds up decision-making in the field

  • reduces unnecessary reinstatement

  • supports consistent pricing and programme forecasting

  • keeps customers informed and reassured rather than confused and frustrated

When every contractor follows the same escalation path, even the messy, legacy, “no one’s touched this since 1974” sites move through the process efficiently and predictably. It’s one of the simplest ways to de-risk rollout at scale. That said, expect at least one site in every programme to stump everyone for a while — planning for that exception is part of running a realistic, resilient rollout.