Construction flooding on W. Valerio Street?

Drought, what drought? Good enough for Government work.

Drought, what drought? Good enough for Government work.

Did you call Public Works to report?

Did you call Public Works to report?

I' d assume it is somehow related to the ongoing work that is being done in the street, so it is likely the contractor (and City) know about the situation.

I' d assume it is somehow related to the ongoing work that is being done in the street, so it is likely the contractor (and City) know about the situation.

Classic bystander effect. Not a great assumption to make when we're in a drought.

Classic bystander effect. Not a great assumption to make when we're in a drought.

Classic knee-jerk retort; In the top photo, you can see a construction worker and related equipment.

Classic knee-jerk retort; In the top photo, you can see a construction worker and related equipment.

This is what happens when they city doesn't mark its water lines. More money for the contractor because of the city

This is what happens when they city doesn't mark its water lines. More money for the contractor because of the city

They broke into a major water main that they said "wasn't on their map." It was a gusher. Massive amount of water wasted.

They broke into a major water main that they said "wasn't on their map." It was a gusher. Massive amount of water wasted.

Who knew there were still uncharted waters?

Who knew there were still uncharted waters?

NO, not good enough for government work, good enough for a private contractor doing government work it seems. This knee jerk bot like hostility to government is tiresome.

NO, not good enough for government work, good enough for a private contractor doing government work it seems. This knee jerk bot like hostility to government is tiresome.

If you've ever seen street grafitti, you know everything is religiously marked according to maps before digging. Private contractors always dial before they dig because if you call the 811 number, the City of SB has to come out and mark it for you. If the pipe is not where the City map says or where the city map reader places the marking paint, the private contractor is not liable. Its like free insurance. So they all do it. If the pipe is marked correctly and the private contractor still hits it, its on them. In my experience, in the street it is usually the City 's fault. Piplelines in the wood are 50-50 fault because paint and flags get moved, covered etc, whereas street markings are painted on the asphalt So that leads me to believe

If you've ever seen street grafitti, you know everything is religiously marked according to maps before digging. Private contractors always dial before they dig because if you call the 811 number, the City of SB has to come out and mark it for you. If the pipe is not where the City map says or where the city map reader places the marking paint, the private contractor is not liable. Its like free insurance. So they all do it. If the pipe is marked correctly and the private contractor still hits it, its on them. In my experience, in the street it is usually the City 's fault. Piplelines in the wood are 50-50 fault because paint and flags get moved, covered etc, whereas street markings are painted on the asphalt

So that leads me to believe

If it actually wasn't on their map then it was the city's fault for not marking the plans correctly. More likely it was USA alerts that missed it. Call before you dig. I spent over 30 years as an inspector and resident engineer here and I've seen Lash only blow out minor gas lines twice in that time it was because the gas company lines were not installed code. Contractors especially this one and Tierra are very careful as they have nothing to gain.

If it actually wasn't on their map then it was the city's fault for not marking the plans correctly. More likely it was USA alerts that missed it. Call before you dig. I spent over 30 years as an inspector and resident engineer here and I've seen Lash only blow out minor gas lines twice in that time it was because the gas company lines were not installed code. Contractors especially this one and Tierra are very careful as they have nothing to gain.

It's going to happen again because the city doesn't know where old service lines are. 2 inch service line attached to the mainline over the current trench lash is digging. If its not shown with paint where it is, 9 times out of 10 what ever is in the way will get ripped out.

It's going to happen again because the city doesn't know where old service lines are. 2 inch service line attached to the mainline over the current trench lash is digging. If its not shown with paint where it is, 9 times out of 10 what ever is in the way will get ripped out.

It's why the City of SB now uses outsourced GPS services to locate and map new tee/saddles, and the meter they go to. Some laterals to meters used to be installed with malleable copper to bend around obstacles (as were old lead pipes from way back when). Those are impossible to mark accurately and hand digging is prohibitively expensive I don't know if City of SB outsources USA location marking, but if you call 811 for a Montecito location, Montecito Water District sends their own rep. For gas, So Cal Gas sends a So Cal Gas rep. Their poly pipe lateral lines are now put in with a tracer wire because they wiggle around a bit much. Frontier, Verizon, Cox, SCE generally speaking seem to like to combine efforts and use the same utility locating subcontractor per address

It's why the City of SB now uses outsourced GPS services to locate and map new tee/saddles, and the meter they go to. Some laterals to meters used to be installed with malleable copper to bend around obstacles (as were old lead pipes from way back when). Those are impossible to mark accurately and hand digging is prohibitively expensive I don't know if City of SB outsources USA location marking, but if you call 811 for a Montecito location, Montecito Water District sends their own rep. For gas, So Cal Gas sends a So Cal Gas rep. Their poly pipe lateral lines are now put in with a tracer wire because they wiggle around a bit much. Frontier, Verizon, Cox, SCE generally speaking seem to like to combine efforts and use the same utility locating subcontractor per address

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