Thank you for visiting our blog to introduce the future standard of underground utility demarcation.
M.U.U.D.S is an acronym for "Marking Underground Utility Depth System and is patented as a METHOD of identifying an underground utility. You can review the patent by clicking here: View Patent
This method involves an elongated tube or PVC pipe with foot and inch markings, (or metric measurements depending on the area), starting at zero at the base of the rod where the utility lies and extending upwards above ground. There is a round base plate at the bottom and a cord that runs through the rod and attaches to the base. IT'S THAT SIMPLE.
Each year, billions of dollars are spent in insurance claims to repair broken utility lines and compensate workers for injuries in the field. M.U.U.D.S provides an exact path to the utility to create awareness of it's location that is a physical trace to the utility. In order to comply with New York State Code Rule 753 which requires hand digging within a certain distance of a utility... that distance needs to be known in order to comply. M.U.U.D.S provides accurate and an exact path to the utility to avoid any disruption or interference.
M.U.U.D.S can be used to identify water, sewer, gas, electric, communication lines that are active or available for future use as well as be used to locate property lines or pins, abandoned utilities, archaeological sites or any underground structures that may need to be excavated in the future.
M.U.U.D.S can extend above ground to be visible markers or discretely hidden just below the surface for future location.
Perhaps one of the most useful properties of M.U.U.D.S is their value in disaster situations. When tornadoes, floods or hurricanes hit an area and alter the elevation, the depth of the utility is still exact based on the placement of the marker. In locations where the markers extend above ground, when earth is washed into the area or away, the depth of the utility either increases or decreases, but the measurement remains accurate.
To further augment the benefits of the markers, chips are being developed to provide remote locating of the markers to make identification even easier. In locations where the markers are installed to be below grade, the chips will provide GPS location. The markers themselves remain a constant measurement for on site excavators to reach a utility, without damaging it.
As utilities are increasingly placed in the ground, repaired, removed or abandoned, identification of their location will remain a valuable asset to the construction industry. This patented system will become the standard for any utility or service placed underground in years to come and compliments the 811 standard already established.
