BC 1 Call — now officially known as Call Before You Dig BC — is a provincial notification service that connects excavators with registered underground utility owners before any digging begins. When you submit a locate request through BC 1 Call, registered utility owners are notified that excavation is planned at your site. They have a defined window to respond with locate information or field marks.
The service is free to use and legally required under BC regulation before excavating. However, there's a critical distinction that many contractors misunderstand: receiving a response from BC 1 Call is not the same as having a professional utility locate.
What BC 1 Call Does — and Doesn't Do
BC 1 Call's job is notification. Here's what it does:
- Notifies registered utility owners of your planned excavation
- Coordinates the response from those utility owners
- Provides a ticket number and confirmation of responses received
- Gives utility owners the opportunity to either mark utilities themselves or confirm they have no infrastructure in the area
What BC 1 Call does not do:
- Locate utilities for you
- Guarantee that all utilities in an area have been identified
- Cover private utilities (on-site gas, electrical, data) not registered with BC 1 Call
- Provide any accuracy guarantee for owner-supplied marks
- Add depth information to surface markings
Many utilities — particularly private ones serving individual properties or industrial facilities — are simply not in the BC 1 Call registry. A BC 1 Call ticket alone leaves significant risk on the table.
Why a Professional Utility Locate Is Still Required
A professional utility locate fills the gaps that BC 1 Call cannot cover:
- Private utilities — on-site fuel lines, electrical feeds to outbuildings, private water systems, and proprietary data conduits — do not appear in BC 1 Call. A professional locator finds them.
- Even registered utilities may not mark the site within the required window, or their marks may be incomplete. A professional locate provides an independent assessment.
- BC 1 Call responses typically cover metallic utilities detectable via EM. GPR-detected non-conductive utilities (plastic pipe, fibre optic, concrete conduit) may not be included in owner marks.
- BC 1 Call marks show horizontal position only. A professional locate adds depth measurements — critical for safe excavation planning.
- A professional locate provides a signed report that demonstrates due diligence in the event of an incident or insurance claim.
How to Use BC 1 Call and a Professional Locate Together
Best practice for any BC excavation follows this sequence:
- Submit your BC 1 Call locate request well before your dig date — at least three business days in advance
- Receive and review all utility owner responses
- Engage a professional utility locator to independently locate the site, incorporating the BC 1 Call information alongside their own field survey
- Reconcile any differences between owner marks and field findings
- Dig only within the marked safe excavation zone
The two processes are complementary, not interchangeable. BC 1 Call satisfies the notification requirement. A professional locate gives you the site intelligence you actually need to excavate safely.
The Legal Side: Excavation Requirements in BC
Under BC regulation, excavating within a defined distance of a utility without prior notification is an offence. The province follows Canada Common Ground Alliance practices, and WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (OHSR) Section 20 requires that utilities be located and clearly marked before any excavation begins. Non-compliance is not just a legal exposure — it is a direct safety risk to your crew.
Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland: Where the Gap Is Largest
On Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland, utility density is especially high. Victoria's downtown core, the Saanich Peninsula, Vancouver, Surrey, and Burnaby all have layers of aging infrastructure mixed with recent installations — many of which are poorly documented. In these areas, the gap between BC 1 Call information and what is actually in the ground is often significant.
GPR Surveys provides professional utility locating across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and Gulf Islands BC. Our locates incorporate BC 1 Call information, add GPR and EM field verification, include depth measurements, and deliver a signed report — everything your project needs to dig with confidence.