About us > News > Up to 70 per cent of gas line hits in BC would be prevented by phoning BC One Call
Up to 70 per cent of gas line hits in BC would be prevented by phoning BC One Call
March 12, 2008
SURREY – Classes were well underway at the Broadway Campus of Vancouver Community College one morning last month, when more than 3,000 students were told to evacuate because an excavator had struck an underground natural gas pipeline.
The needed repairs meant students and staff lost most of the school day and 77 Terasen Gas customers had their service temporarily interrupted. However, if excavators had used safe excavation practices as set out by B.C. provincial safety regulations – including the practice of hand digging within one meter of the gas line – this incident would not have happened.
“Unfortunately the Vancouver Community College incident is not isolated. In 2007, Terasen Gas experienced 1,739 incidents affecting our pipeline system and totalling more than $1.3 million in repairs,” said Dwain Bell, Terasen Gas, vice president of distribution. “Terasen Gas tracks and reviews every one of these incidents to better understand the cause of system damage. Each year we provide the findings to our safety regulators and use the information to plan and implement our public awareness activities encouraging safe excavation practices and reminding people to call BC One Call. Callers not only receive gas line locate information, but also underground infrastructure information of all BC One Call members for their dig area.”
Each time a gas line is hit, Terasen Gas arrives on site to ensure public safety and make repairs. Of the hit lines we responded to last year:
- 70 per cent happened because people failed to call BC One Call for gas line information
- 20 per cent did call and had the location information for a gas line, but failed to use safe excavation practices such as hand digging
- 10 per cent called, had location information and hand dug, but other construction activity resulted in damage
- less than one per cent of incidents occurred because of incorrect gas line location information
As well, Terasen Gas responded to 250 emergency calls province-wide that resulted from leaks to a home or business owners’ piping, car accidents, storm damage or fire.
The rise in excavation-related incidents from 2006 to 2007 can be attributed to an increase in construction activity. This is partly measured by Terasen Gas’ new service installations and housing starts but the cause of incidents has not changed.
“We’ve long supported BC One Call,” said Bell. “As a founding member of the Common Ground Alliance, we work with other members to ensure the digging community uses the best practices when digging around all underground utilities.”
Being safe means getting underground gas line information at least three days before digging. Call BC One Call at 1-800-474-6886 or *6886 on your cellular. BC One Call will contact all member organizations with underground utilities, including Terasen Gas, in the dig area. Call at lease three business days in advance. This is a requirement of provincial gas safety regulations. The call and the information are free.
Once you have the location information, keep it on site during excavation. Use the information to locate the gas line and then hand dig to expose the line before using any mechanical equipment. If you hand dig and can’t find the buried gas line, or need further clarification, call Terasen Gas at 1-888-822-6555.
So always Call Before You Dig to avoid the dangers and costs of hitting an underground line. For more information, visit http://www.terasengas.com/ or visit http://www.bconecall.bc.ca/.
Terasen Gas is mainly composed of the operations of Terasen Gas Inc. and Terasen Gas (Vancouver Island) Inc., both indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of Fortis Inc. Fortis Inc., the largest investor-owned distribution utility in Canada, serves two million gas and electric customers and has more than $10 billion of assets. Its regulated holdings include Terasen Gas and electric utilities in five Canadian provinces and three Caribbean countries. Fortis Inc. owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets across Canada and in Belize and upper New York State. It also owns hotels and commercial real estate in Canada. Fortis Inc. shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol FTS. Additional information can be accessed at http://www.fortisinc.com/ or http://www.sedar.com/.
Backgrounder with Vancouver Island regional information attached.
Media contact:
Joyce Wagenaar
Corporate Communications Manager
Phone: (604) 592-7682
E-mail: joyce.wagenaar@terasengas.com
Joyce Wagenaar
Corporate Communications Manager
Phone: (604) 592-7682
E-mail: joyce.wagenaar@terasengas.com
BC One Call contact:
Gary Tremblay
Executive Director
Phone: (604) 230-6122
Gary Tremblay
Executive Director
Phone: (604) 230-6122
Background - Vancouver Island system damage
In 2007 throughout Vancouver Island, Terasen Gas experienced 268 incidents of damage to our system, as compared to the 243 incidents in 2006. The increase in damages can be attributed to an increase in construction activity, which can be partially measured by the increase in housing starts for Vancouver Island.
Capital Regional District
When we break out statistics from Vancouver Island as a whole, the Capital Regional District actually saw a decrease in the number of excavation damages – 93 in 2007 over 97 which occurred in 2006. This decrease occurred despite an increase in construction activity. It can also be attributed to greater awareness of excavator responsibility, as is reflected by a number of requests from municipalities for locate and/or excavator safety training sessions from Terasen Gas.
When we break out statistics from Vancouver Island as a whole, the Capital Regional District actually saw a decrease in the number of excavation damages – 93 in 2007 over 97 which occurred in 2006. This decrease occurred despite an increase in construction activity. It can also be attributed to greater awareness of excavator responsibility, as is reflected by a number of requests from municipalities for locate and/or excavator safety training sessions from Terasen Gas.
Of the 93 damages in 2007:
- 58 per cent happened because people failed to call BC One Call for gas line information
- 20 per cent did call and had the location information, but failed to use safe excavation practices such as hand digging
- 22 per cent called, had location information and hand dug, but other construction activity resulted in damage
- less than one per cent was due to incorrect gas line location information
North Island region
The North Island region, which includes Nanaimo, Courtenay, Parksville, Powell River, Sechelt, Campbell River, Port Alberni, Comox Valley and Duncan, saw an increase in excavation damages to 175 in 2007 over 146 which occurred in 2006. The increase can be attributed to:
- a relatively greater increase in construction activity in the North Island than the CRD
- a broader geographic area with a greater number of excavators
- less awareness of excavator responsibility, and
- fewer requests for training
Of the 175 damages in 2007:
- 56 per cent happened because people failed to call BC One Call for gas line information
- 29 per cent did call and had the location information, but failed to use safe excavation practices such as hand digging
- 15 per cent called, had location information and hand dug, but other construction activity resulted in damage
- less than one per cent was due to incorrect gas line location information
Change in line locate process
Since January 2006, Terasen Gas has worked with Vancouver Island/Sunshine Coast municipalities and contractors regarding our change in line marking practice to providing locate information. This process has been in place throughout the rest of the province for many years. Municipalities in BC’s Lower Mainland have always worked from maps to locate natural gas distribution lines.
The difference in statistical data, with respect to damages, between the mainland and Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast appears to reflect a gap in excavator awareness of safe excavating procedures. Terasen Gas offers this training on a regular basis to the excavating community and particularly municipal operations staff.
In 2007, Terasen Gas physically marked 792 buried gas lines on Vancouver Island. The company performs physical locations (marking the gas line location) for distribution lines in the following circumstances:
- if the caller expresses uncertainty with the maps provided
- the excavator has been unsuccessful in locating the natural gas line by hand digging
- an emergency situation
If digging is planned near our large transmission lines, Terasen Gas will locate the line and remain on site during the excavation.
Terasen Gas supports providing locate information as a best practice that protects worker and public safety. Our practice mirrors the policy in place for telephone, cable, electrical and municipal services such as sewage and water locates in many areas.
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