Licensed & insured private utility locating — Tampa Bay, Florida Call or text (770) 533-0541
GroundScout Utility Locating
GPR · EM · Utility Mapping

Know what's below before you dig

811 stops at the meter. GroundScout finds the private lines nobody else marks — water, gas, electric, telecom and sewer — so your crew digs with confidence.

Request a locate Call (770) 533-0541

Staking University certified · Same-week scheduling across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.

What we mark

  • Electric — secondary feeds, site lighting, EV chargers
  • Gas & fuel — propane runs, generator lines, tanks
  • Water — irrigation, fire mains, reclaimed lines
  • Telecom — fiber, coax, security and data conduit
  • Sewer & storm — laterals, septic, drainage
CertifiedStaking University
GPR + EMDual-method locating
Same dayField sketch delivered
6 countiesTampa Bay coverage
Services

Locating built for the job in front of you

Every site gets swept with both electromagnetic induction and ground penetrating radar. Two methods, because one alone misses non-conductive pipe and unmarked abandoned lines.

Core service

Private utility locating

Full sweep of your dig area with paint and flags marked to APWA color code. Everything past the meter that 811 will not touch.

GPR

Ground penetrating radar

Finds PVC water line, clay sewer, plastic gas, buried tanks, voids and vaults — the non-conductive targets an EM wand walks right past.

Concrete

Concrete scanning

Rebar, post-tension cable and conduit mapped before you core, cut or drill. Saves a $40,000 mistake on a $600 scan.

Deliverable

Utility mapping & SUE

Field data delivered as a marked-up site plan or CAD-ready file. Quality levels B and D to ASCE 38 standards.

Troubleshooting

Sewer & septic tracing

Sonde and camera work to trace laterals, find cleanouts, and pinpoint septic tanks and drain fields on unmapped property.

Diagnostics

Fault & depth locating

Track down shorted or broken conductors and confirm depth of cover before boring, trenching or grading.

How it works

From call to marked site

Three steps, and you are usually on the schedule within a few days.

1

Tell us the scope

Send the address, the dig limits and what you are installing. A site plan helps but is not required. You get a flat quote back, not an hourly guess.

2

We sweep the site

Keaton walks the area with EM and GPR, marks findings in paint and flags, and shoots depth readings where they matter to your crew.

3

You get the record

A photo-documented field sketch lands in your inbox the same day. Need it on the plan set or in CAD? That comes next.

Diagram showing a signal clamp energising a buried pipe and a handheld receiver tracing the signal above ground
Electromagnetic locating: a signal is applied to the line, then traced from the surface. GPR covers what carries no signal.
Why private locating

811 marks the utility's lines. Not yours.

The free 811 ticket covers member-owned utilities up to the meter or right of way. Past that point, every line on the property belongs to the owner — and no one is coming to mark it for free.

  • ▸Irrigation, site lighting and parking lot feeds
  • ▸Secondary electric to garages, pools, shops and signs
  • ▸Sewer laterals, septic systems and storm drainage
  • ▸Private fire mains, propane runs and fuel lines
  • ▸Fiber, data and security conduit between buildings
  • ▸Abandoned lines that never made it onto a drawing

Hit one of those and you own the repair, the downtime and the liability. A private locate costs a fraction of a single strike.

Get a locate scheduled

Blue water main marked around a utility lid with an orange telecom line and flag alongside
Blue for water, orange for telecom. Marks laid to APWA color code so any crew on site reads them the same way.
Keaton Greene recording a located utility point with GPS survey equipment
Every find gets a GPS point, not just a paint mark.
Who you're hiring

One locator. Every job.

GroundScout is owner-operated. The person who answers the phone is the person who shows up, runs the equipment and signs the sketch. No dispatch queue, no rotating subcontractor, no explaining the site twice.

That means the schedule stays honest and the work stays consistent. If a target is uncertain, you hear it on site instead of finding out at the trencher.

  • ▸General contractors and site work crews
  • ▸Plumbers, electricians and irrigation installers
  • ▸Directional boring and utility contractors
  • ▸Engineers, surveyors and environmental firms
  • ▸Property owners and facility managers
Credentials & field work

Certified, and the marks to show for it

Locating is not a licensed trade in Florida, so anyone can buy a wand and call themselves a locator. Here is the training and the work behind GroundScout.

Certificate of Locating Competency issued to Keaton Greene by Staking University, November 2025
Staking University — Certificate of Locating Competency. Keaton Greene, November 2025. Written examination in electromagnetic locating instruments.
Yellow gas line marked across a lawn directly in front of a tracked excavator
Yellow gas run marked ahead of the excavator.
Pink survey flags running along a coiled telecom cable at the base of a utility pole
Flagged telecom route back to the pole.
Open trench with red electrical conduit being installed alongside a mini excavator
Cleared route, no surprises in the trench.
The deliverable

Paint fades. The map doesn't.

Marks on the ground last one rain. For projects that run past next week, findings get delivered as a scaled site map with every run traced, labelled and color coded — the record your crew, your engineer and the next contractor all work from.

  • ▸Overlaid on aerial imagery or your own site plan
  • ▸GPS points on every fitting, valve and lid
  • ▸PDF for the field, CAD or KMZ for the office
  • ▸ASCE 38 quality levels B and D when the spec calls for it

Ask about mapping

Aerial site map with electric, gas, water, telecom and sewer runs traced in color coded lines
Sample utility map — every run traced and color coded to APWA standard.
Service area

Working across Tampa Bay

Based in Tampa Bay and covering the surrounding counties. Outside the list? Call anyway — travel jobs are routine.

TampaSt. PetersburgClearwaterBrandon RiverviewWesley ChapelLutzLand O' Lakes Plant CityLakelandLargoPalm Harbor SarasotaBradentonNew Port RicheyWinter Haven
Questions

Straight answers

Do I still need to call 811?

Yes. Always call 811 first — it is free, it is the law in Florida, and it covers the utility-owned lines. GroundScout handles everything 811 leaves unmarked, which on most properties is the majority of what is in the ground.

How much does a private locate cost?

Most residential and small commercial jobs are quoted flat, based on the size of the dig area and the deliverable you need. Send an address and a scope and you get a number the same day — no hourly surprises.

How deep can you locate?

EM locating typically reaches 10 to 15 feet on a traceable conductor. GPR depth depends on soil — Florida sand reads well, wet clay does not. Expect 4 to 8 feet in most Tampa Bay conditions, and you will be told on site if a target is out of range instead of getting a guess.

Can you find plastic pipe?

Often, yes. Non-metallic pipe has no signal to trace, so it takes GPR, a sonde pushed through the line, or a traceable interpretation of surrounding features. This is exactly why every job gets both methods rather than an EM wand alone.

How fast can you get out there?

Same-week is typical and next-day happens often. Emergency and after-hours work is available — call rather than emailing if the excavator is already on site.

What do I get at the end?

Paint and flags on the ground marked to APWA color code, plus a photo-documented field sketch delivered the same day. CAD files, ASCE 38 quality level deliverables and full utility maps are available when the project calls for them.

Request a locate

Tell us about the site

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