What Is a Private Utility Locate? Why Calling Ontario One Call Isn't Enough

You called before you dug. The public lines got marked, and your crew is ready to start. Then someone hits a water line nobody marked. It happens more than people expect, and it usually comes down to one thing: public locates stop at the property line. A private utility locate covers everything past it.

What a private utility locate is

A private utility locate finds and marks buried lines on private property. That means water, fire, gas, electrical, and communication services running to buildings, hydrants, pools, sheds, and equipment. We use professional electromagnetic locating equipment, trace each line, and mark its route with paint and flags so your crew can see exactly where it runs.

Public locate vs private locate

• Public locate: covers lines owned by municipalities and utility companies, up to your property line. You request it through Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call), and the utility owners mark their own lines.

• Private locate: covers lines on your side of the property line. Nobody marks these unless you hire a private locator.

Most jobs need both.

Why it matters

Ontario sees more than 3,900 underground damages each year, about 17 every workday, according to the Electrical Safety Authority. A strike can mean injury, outages, delays, repair bills, and fines. Old or missing drawings make it worse, especially on industrial and commercial sites where lines get added, moved, or forgotten over the years.

When you need a private locate

• Before building a fence, deck, or pool

• Before trenching or excavation on commercial or industrial property

• When your site drawings are old or missing

• Before adding or repairing water, fire, electrical, or communication services

• Early in design, so plans match what is really in the ground

What a locate does and doesn't do

A locate marks the route of the buried lines we can detect. It doesn't replace safe digging. Depth can vary, and site conditions can limit what any locator detects. Always dig by hand within one meter of any marked line, and we'll tell you plainly if anything limits a result.

Get a private utility locate in Hamilton and across Ontario

TraceIQ Locating is based in Hamilton and serves Burlington, Niagara, the GTA, and Southern Ontario. Tell us the address, what you plan to dig, and your timeline, and we'll send a clear quote. Ready to go? Request a locate today. Have questions first? Read our private utility locating FAQ.