It Can Be Done! 64% Damage Reduction!
I wish to congratulate the City of Columbia, Missouri, as they have reduced utility damage hits by 64%!
Yes, you read that correctly! In accepting the challenge from the Common Ground Alliance to reduce utility damage by 50% in 5 years, (The 50-in-5 Challenge), it is my honor to announce a utility that has not only achieved this feat but exceeded it!
How? According to John Spatafora, City of Columbia Utilities, it involved a three-pronged approach: inspecting, addressing city ordinances, and education. These comprehensive changes were implemented in early 2024. John said the most impactful change was the mandatory inspection of every horizontal bore. Yes, this required more effort, but the damage dollars saved far outweighed the extra time expense to perform these inspections. Additionally, this move allowed them to catch mismarks of utilities before the excavators found them.
A benefit that municipalities have as governmental entities is that they can enact ordinances within their zones of authority. This allows municipalities to maintain better control of activity with an improved degree of responsiveness from businesses hired to perform work within the city limits. Even though other utilities may not necessarily have the authority to enforce ordinances, there are other means to gain high levels of cooperation.
Education, and I might add communication, are key efforts in reducing damage. I am amazed at how often I hear someone’s solution to reducing damages to utilities only involves “those people” changing “their” behavior. From where I sit, I see no angels. Too often, I see utilities that do not mark responsibly, just as often as an excavator who may not request a utility locate or pothole properly. Education and communication can bring clarity and understanding to damage prevention efforts, and the City of Columbia is a good example of the effectiveness of pre-construction meetings.
Once again, my heartfelt congratulations to the City of Columbia, Missouri, and the fellow municipalities and Utilisource that helped make this a reality. Keep an eye on this subject, as you will hear more about it soon.
