This document defines various utility-related terms across multiple industries. Some key terms include: - Anchors, which are rods placed in the ground to stabilize utility poles with overhead wires. - Cathodic protection, a technique to control corrosion on metal surfaces. - Easements, which give utilities the right to control land use near power lines, pipelines, and substations. - French drains, which are covered ditches that redirect surface and ground water away from buildings. - Gas mains and electric main lines, which are pipelines and lines that carry gas and electricity throughout distribution systems. - Manholes and hand holes, which allow access for maintenance and repair of underground systems. -

2. ANCHORS (UTILITY ANCHOR)
rod placed into the ground attached to the
guy wire used to help stabilize a utility pole
with overhead wires.

3. ANODE
the anode of a device is the terminal where
current flows in. The cathode of a device is the
terminal where current flows out. Corrosion is the
reason sacrificial anodes are used to protect the
parent material

4. APPROACHES
way or means of reaching something; an access (an approach to driveway,
where road connects to driveway, cut out curb)

5. BARRIER WALL/HIGHWAY CABLE
a wall or cable placed in median of hwy to prevent crossover traffic
collisions

6. BORING
installing pipe under roads or other obstruction and connect to tap valve
and meter vault/box, or private line, as applicable.

7. CABLE TV MAIN LINE
cable service can run from pole to pole or from pedestal to pedestal

8. CABLE TV SERVICE LINES
run from pole or pedestal to house. Pole or pedestals can be anywhere, but
close to electric service. Length for service line is usually no longer than
250 ft, no shorter than 100 ft.

9. CATHODIC PROTECTION
a technique used to control the corrosion on a metal surface

10. CONDUIT
pipe used to transfer something from one location to another

11. CROP IRRIGATION
artificial application of water to the soil to assist in growing crops

12. CROSS-BOXES
A smaller version of an SAC or SAI. Phone contractors will quite often refer
to these boxes when doing work. Addresses are given to these boxes
normally during planning stages as an engineer's ideal location. Many
times when they are actually placed in the field the location has to be
changed due to real estate constraints. Generally, the engineer does not
change the address.
Givng you a little further information relating to telephone terminologies.
Pedestal addresses tend to be a little more reliable than SAI addresses
because pedestal addresses are usually assigned in the field. Pedestal
addresses in the rural areas are usually determined by distance from
the C.O. and are not usually assigned by residential addresses

13. CULVERT
a conduit used to enclose a flowing body of water. It may be
used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railways, or
embankment Culverts can be made of many different
materials; steel, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and concrete are
the most common.

14. DEMOLISH
means to wreck, raze, render, move or remove a structure by means of any
equipment or explosive.

15. DIRECTIONAL BORE
Is a trenchless method of installing underground pipes, conduits and
cables in a shallow area along a bore path with minimal impact on the
surrounding area. Directional boring is used when trenching or excavating
is not practical

16. EASEMENT
A utility easement is the right held by utilities, to control the use of your
land near overhead and underground power lines, gas pipelines and
substations.

17. ELECTRIC MAIN LINE
a line in a system that distributes electricity

18. ELECTRIC SERVICE LINE
a line that distributes electricity from the transformer
pole or pedestal to the consumer. to run service,
sometimes the service can come from an existing pole
and sometimes they have to set a new pole or pedestal
on base of pole which can provide 4-5 services

19. FOUNDATION REPAIR
repairs foundation and structure to homes and businesses

20. FRENCH DRAIN
a ditch covered with gravel or rock that redirects surface and
ground water away from an area. French drains are common
drainage systems, primarily used to prevent ground and surface
water from penetrating or damaging building foundations and may
be used to distribute water, such as that which flows from the
outlet of a typical septic tank sewage treatment system. French
drains are also used behind retaining walls to relieve ground water
pressure.

21. GAS MAIN
Mains are the pipelines that carry the gas from the meter stations
throughout the distribution systems, from meter to meter

22. GAS METER
used to measure the volume of fuel gases such as natural gas and propane
to the consumer

23. GAS SERVICE LINE
a pipe that distributes gas from main line to structure

24. GAS VALVE
a device that regulates the flow of gases by opening, closing, or partially
obstructing various passageways. In an open valve, fluid flows in a
direction from higher pressure to lower pressure

25. GROUND ROD
applied to utility poles to pull electricity down through the rod and into the
ground at least six feet into the ground within one foot of the foundation

26. GUARD RAIL
system designed to keep people or vehicles from (in most cases
unintentionally) straying into dangerous or off-limits areas

27. GUY WIRE
a tensioned cable designed to add stability to
structures such as utility poles. One end of the
cable is attached to the structure, and the other
end is anchored into the ground at a distance
from the structure’s base

28. HAND HOLE
A shallow access hole large enough for a hand to be inserted for
maintenance and repair of machinery or equipment

29. HYDRO TESTING (HYDROSTATIC TEST)
a way in which leaks can be found in pressure vessels such as pipelines and plumbing. The test
involves placing water, which is often dyed for visibility, in the pipe or vessel at the required
pressure to ensure that it will not leak or be damaged. It is the most common method employed for
testing pipes and vessels. Using this test helps maintain safety standards and durability of a vessel
over time. Newly manufactured pieces are initially qualified using the hydrostatic test. They are then
continually re-qualified at regular intervals using the proof pressure test which is also called the
modified hydrostatic test. Hydrostatic testing is also a way in which a gas pressure vessel, such as a
gas cylinder or a boiler, is checked for leaks or flaws. Testing is very important because such
containers can explode if they fail when containing compressed gas.
Steps Involved
1. Remove product from line
2. Test per code
3. Dry the pipeline
4. Return product to the line

30. LIFT STATION
Wastewater level sensor

31. MONITORING WELLS
a method used to measure quality of
ground water

32. OIL FIELD
region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum (crude oil) from
below ground

33. PIG LAUNCHER
Pipeline Inspection Gauge. It inspects the
pipeline without interrupting the flow of
gas or oil running through pipeline. The
launcher part is of course the device that
sends the PIG through the pipeline

34. RAISING MANHOLE
Manholes allow access at key locations usually
located where two or more pipes or conduits enter
the system, the access is necessary for
maintenance and inspection of the system,
excavator will dig out the entire manhole structure
to raise it.

35. REINFORCING RODS
a variety of steel rods used in reinforcing concrete

36. RETAINING WALLS
structure that holds back soil or rock from a building,
structure or area. Retaining walls prevent downslope
movement or erosion and provide support for vertical or
near-vertical grade changes

37. RISERS
a riser connects an above ground natural gas meter to the service line

38. ROAD BORE
trenchless method of installing underground pipes, conduits and cables in
a shallow area under a road with minimal impact on the surrounding area.
Directional boring is used when trenching or excavating is not practical.

39. ROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY
piece of land that all public roads are located
within. The width of land is usually wider than the
road itself, this excess land is the right-of-way
which is reserved for use of the traveling public
and maintenance of the county road system

40. SAC OR SAC BOX
Serving Area Closure, this is a large telephone closure that houses the
Serving Area Interface. It is junction box that usually sets on a 4ft x 4ft
concrete pad

41. SAI: SERVICE AREA INTERFACE
Telephone equipment with massive
switching devices. Generally there is a
large feeder cable from the telephone
company's central office entering and
several large cables exiting for distribution
to customers

42. SEISMIC
measurement of the earth’s movement

43. SEPTIC SYSTEM
Septic systems are a type of On-Site Sewage Facility. The diagram below
displays an average septic tank system with lateral lines running to a
drainfield. Inside the tank, liquids and solids are separated naturally and
form three distinctive layers know as the scum layer (top layer), clear layer
(middle effluent layer) and sludge layer (bottom layer). In most systems, the
effluent layer is allowed to pass out into a drainfield or leachfield where the
liquid is broken down biologically by naturally occurring bacteria present in
most all systems. The sludge and scum layers are slowly broken down by
similar bacteria and are converted to effluent or “middle layer” liquid.

44. SEWER MAIN
a pipe in a system that collects sewage and directs to sewer bed

45. SEWER SERVICE
a pipe that collects sewage and directs the flow to main sewer line

46. SOIL TEST BORINGS
act of drilling for Geologic engineering
tests to determine the capability of the soil
to support proposed improvements or to
determine the strength and properties of a
required building foundation.

47. STORAGE TANK
a container, usually for holding liquids, sometimes for compressed gases
(gas tank).

48. STORM SEWER/DRAIN
a drain or drain system is designed to drain excess rain and ground water
from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs

49. TELEPHONE MAIN CABLE
is a circuit on a telephone communications system, running from pedestal to
pedestal

50. TELEPHONE PEDESTAL/TERMINAL BOXES
Telephone terminal box is divided into two compartments so to provide a
first compartment accessible only to the telephone operating company
and a second compartment accessible to the subscriber. Each
compartment has its own cover, and the covers may be individually
locked by the subscriber and by the telephone company. The box is
constructed so that if it becomes necessary, the telephone company
can gain access to the subscriber compartment, however, the
subscriber cannot gain access to the telephone company compartment.
Terminal and junction boxes are designed for indoor or outdoor use.
A terminal block is mounted in the subscriber compartment to provide
connections to a predetermined number of subscriber telephones.

51. TELEPHONE SERVICE DROP
line that distributes telephone service from the terminal block to the
structure

52. TELEPHONE TERMINOLOGIES
To help you further, following are some terms used in pedestal addressing :
F: front of address
R: rear of address
S: side of address
On: on the building (this is usually at apartments or businesses)
In: inside the building (this is usually at businesses)
SS: straight splice. There are no svc drops out of these pedestals. It is a closure in which 2 cables are spliced together.
RPL: Rural Pole Line (cables are not necessarily in the air on poles)
RCL: Rural Cable Line
SNI : interface or connection box to the house
Spur: these are also in the rural areas and are "spurs" off the RPL or RCL.
Some other terms often used:
C.O.: Central Office
Toll or Trunk Cables: Cables going long distances with no distribution. These generally go from one town to another
town.

53. TRANSFORMER
a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through
conductors (material allowing the flow of electric current), the
transformer’s coils

54. UTILITY POLE
pole used to support overhead power lines and various other public
utilities, such as cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as
transformers and street lights

55. WATER MAIN
transmits water between the water supply source and the consumer

56. WATER METER
a device used to measure the volume of water usage from the water main to
the consumer.

57. WATER SERVICE LINE
Service lines transmit water from the distribution main to
residential, industrial and commercial users. Services come from
water main which could be on customer side of street (short
service) or in middle or opposite side of street (long service).

58. WATER TAP
a valve controlling release of liquids

59. WATER VALVE
valves allow water pressure and flow direction to be regulated along the
way

60. WATERWAYS
any navigable body of water. These include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and
canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several
criteria:
The waterway must be deep enough to allow the draft depth of the vessels
using it;
The waterway must be wide enough to allow passage for the beam width of
the vessels using it;
The waterway must be free of barriers to navigation such as waterfalls and
rapids, or have a way around them (such as canal locks and boat lifts);
The current of the waterway must be mild enough to allow vessels to make
headway.