Ballarat Locating Services finds the buried pipes, cables, or drains that may be present at your work site, and marks them out clearly on the ground.

This allows you to dig with confidence.

Locating is achieved using a Radiodetection electromagnetic locator, traceable rod, radiosondes, and flushable sondes.

Ballarat Locating Services is a CertLoc Certified Locating Organisation. Utility locating is done compliant with Australian Standard AS5488.1.

David Hunter is a CertLoc Certified Locator.

Ground-penetrating radar can be used to find plastic pipes and non-conductive services such as drains.

David has almost twenty years experience using ground-penetrating radar and has been teaching other GPR users worldwide for over a decade.

David's expertise is in using a technique called depth-slicing, which allows him to see a plan-view of all buried assets at different depths under the ground. He has used this technique to find buried pipes, cables, tree roots, unmarked graves, buried tanks, and has also consulted for multiple universities, police agencies, mines, utility detection companies, and utility asset owners worldwide.

Depth-slicing provides additional capabilities over regular (non-gridded) GPR surveying. As it provides a three-dimensional view of the varying soil conductivity across a search area, this technique allows us to find literally anything that is slightly different in electrical conductivity to the surrounding soil - so things like buried tanks, septic systems, tree roots, rabbit burrows, sinkholes/dolines, back-filled mine shafts, buried caves, unmarked human graves, and so on, can all be detected.

As described above, David is at the forefront of a specialist method called "gridded ground-penetrating radar surveying". This methodology allows him to map anything that has a different electrical conductivity in the ground in comparison to the surrounding soil. So, if you're looking for something that is buried and has a slightly different amount of moisture in it, then it possibly can be found.

This includes things such buried tanks (which have a big air gap in them, or a liquid inside them), empty voids such as sinkholes (big holes in the ground), mine shafts (which are usually back-filled with rubble, so are slightly different to the surrounding soil), rabbit and other animal burrows, tree roots, unmarked human graves, and so on.

David has extensive experience using ground-penetrating radar for all of the above purposes, particularly in western Victoria.

The image shows a cross-section (not a radargram) of ground-penetrating radar data showing a mineshaft discovered by accident at the Newstead Cemetery (near Castlemaine) in 2021 whilst searching for unmarked human graves. The large red area is the backfilled mine shaft itself. The blue areas are the surrounding soil.

David has an extensive background in mapping and has all the equipment needed to map your job site. He uses Leica RTK GNSS receivers, robotic total stations, and laser scanners. Maps can be provided in CAD or GIS format. Maps can also be printed up to A0-size on request.

Inserting fence posts into the ground is one of the leading causes of damage to power and Telstra cables. A common mistake is assuming that there are no buried cables in an empty paddock.

Don't risk it. Call us and get the assets located before you insert those fence posts!

Are you planning to plant in your nature strip? Wanting to remove a tree from your front yard?

There are very likely to be buried services under there! You need a locator such as Ballarat Locating Services - we can find any buried pipe or cable that's in the area before you start digging.

The City of Ballarat recently posted guidelines for people wanting to plant gardens in their nature strips. They recommend getting free Dial Before You Dig plans before excavating or digging. These plans are often vague or not quite accurate.

Ballarat Locating Services accurately locates all buried pipes and cables including their depth and marks them with spray paint on the ground so you know exactly where it is. Often the cables I find are about a shovel deep, not the regulation 600mm. Think of your safety.

Don’t risk digging through an electricity cable or gas pipe.

YOU are financially responsible for damage to any cables or pipes. This can be several thousands of dollars.

This photo shown is a great example. The grass layer was removed with an excavator and as you can see in the photo, the soil looks innocent enough. However, I found a gas main pipe and stormwater drain running through this area! Please give us a call or book in a job today.

Power sites, such as sub-stations, wind farms, and solar farms, often have a lot of buried power cables. We can help by finding all buried assets on-site and providing precise maps.

Real estate agents and their contractors often drive posts or star pickets into the ground to support "for sale" signs. This is a common cause of damage to buried assets.

Don't be caught-out. Hire Ballarat Locating Services before you put those for-sale signs up!