Underground Utility Locating & Subsurface Solutions in Detroit, MI

Private Utility Locating

Contacting MISS DIG 811 is the first step to marking publicly owned utilities, but a large share of Detroit's underground infrastructure is privately owned and falls completely outside the public locate. Blood Hound identifies the private assets that put crews at risk, including:

• Private electrical, data, and communication lines
• Water service lines, sewer laterals, and force mains
• Irrigation, drainage, and stormwater systems
• Underground fuel lines and storage tanks
• Parking structure, campus, and site lighting circuits

Using electromagnetic locating paired with ground penetrating radar, our field crews deliver high-confidence results before the first shovel breaks ground.

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR)

Detroit's older neighborhoods and former industrial corridors hold a mix of documented utilities and undocumented legacy infrastructure. Our GPR scanning provides nondestructive detection beneath concrete, asphalt, and soil for:

• Non-conductive utilities that electromagnetic methods cannot find
• Unknown, abandoned, or poorly recorded lines
• Voids, sinkholes, and buried debris
• Structural elements below paved surfaces

Vacuum Excavation

Wet and dry vacuum excavation lets crews expose buried utilities with no mechanical contact, which matters in Detroit's dense downtown and on brownfield sites where unknown lines are common. The method confirms exact location and depth while keeping surface disruption to a minimum.

Concrete Scanning

Before any cutting, coring, or drilling in Detroit's parking decks, bridges, and commercial slabs, Blood Hound scans concrete to map rebar, post-tension cables, and embedded conduit, protecting both the crew and the structure.

Leak Detection

Aging water mains are a persistent challenge across the Detroit system. Our acoustic leak detection pinpoints the source of pressurized water loss with precision, helping facility and municipal teams target repairs instead of excavating blindly.

Robotic Camera Inspection

Push-camera and robotic crawler inspection delivers a clear interior view of sewer laterals, storm lines, and conduit throughout the metro, identifying blockages, cracks, and failures without excavation.

Does MISS DIG 811 locate private utilities in Detroit?

No. Contacting MISS DIG 811 is the first step to marking publicly owned utilities. Privately owned lines, including those past the meter and across private property, fall outside that scope. Blood Hound locates those private assets so Detroit crews have a complete subsurface picture before digging.

Can you locate utilities on former industrial or brownfield sites?

Yes. Detroit's many redevelopment sites often contain abandoned and undocumented lines from prior use. We combine electromagnetic locating, GPR, and vacuum excavation to detect and confirm these legacy utilities where records no longer exist.

How does Michigan's freeze-thaw climate affect subsurface work?

Repeated freezing and thawing shifts soils and can move or damage shallow utilities over time, which makes current, field-verified locating more reliable than aging as-built records.