By Ann Cameron Siegal
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, April 30, 2005
The telephone poles in my neighborhood lean precariously. One is so wobbly that workers refuse to climb it to make repairs. The jumble of overhead wires and cables leading to my house does little for its curb appeal.
Shove those lines underground, remove the poles and be done with it!
What a joy it would be to watch the phases of the moon without obstruction. Street trees could grow normally, without the haphazard whacking they get now when they tangle with those unsightly lines.
Putting lines underground would mean an end to outages caused by ice or fallen trees. It would free up sidewalk space, so people using wheelchairs and strollers could move more freely.
In 2000, vehicle collisions with utility poles resulted in 1,100 fatalities nationwide. Remove the poles, reduce the accidents.
As desirable as all that sounds, it turns out that moving electrical and telecommunication lines underground isn't as easy as it seems -- or as foolproof.
For almost 30 years, new construction in Maryland has been required to have underground utilities, unless that would be economically unfeasible. Even though there is no such mandate in Virginia, in 2003 Virginia Power put 96 percent of its new residential service underground.
But in older communities such as mine, developed in the 1930s, "it's not a matter of laying a trench and removing a pole," said Robert Dobkin, a spokesman for Pepco. Tearing up yards, sidewalks and streets to install conduits, transformers and other equipment makes costs soar.
In fact, in January of this year, two extensive reports -- one by Edison Electric Institute, the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies, and one by the Virginia State Corporation Commission -- reached the same conclusion. The trade-off between cost and aesthetics does not warrant wholesale burial of utilities in older communities.
"Cost" is the operative word here.
When the State Corporation Commission solicited public comments on the desirability of burying utilities in older communities, homeowners overwhelmingly applauded. Many respondents said they were even willing to pay a "reasonable cost" for the service, but the definition of reasonable is vague. A respondent said she wouldn't mind paying "an additional $1 to $3 a month."
Brace yourself.
Dobkin estimates that putting just electric lines underground would cost $1 million per mile. By contrast, the Virginia corporation commission estimates that overhead utility lines cost $10,000 to $250,000 per mile, depending upon terrain and labor costs.
Christopher Creager, Verizon's senior vice president of network services, said putting Verizon's lines underground is "at least twice as expensive" as stringing them through the air.
When the town of Garrett Park looked into burying utilities along one road four years ago, "estimated costs ranged from seven to 10 million dollars per mile," said Tom Pogue, community outreach manager for the Montgomery County Department of Public Works. That would be for all utilities, not just power lines. Those estimates include removing utility poles, repairing sidewalks, curbs and streets, replacing trees and repairing gas, water or sewer pipes that may be damaged, as well as putting everything back in proper order -- all part of the process.
Residents of Arlington's Forest Glen community really wanted their utilities underground. "We've been told the cost is around $15,000 per linear foot," Ira Goodsaid, president of the homeowners association, wrote in an e-mail. "Should Arlington propose to pay for it, we would likely embrace it," he added. Until then, the project is on hold.
Who Pays?No matter who writes the check for such a project, however, the Virginia corporation commission concluded, "The costs would be paid ultimately by consumers, either directly, or indirectly, in the form of prices, taxes, or utility rates."
In 1982, the city of Frederick put all utilities and transformers underground on about 14 blocks in the historic district. At that time, recalled Richard Griffin, director of economic development for the city, the utilities were partners in the cost because they knew consumers would continue to buy power from them. Now, with deregulation, the utility that owns the lines is less likely to want to make the investment because it is not guaranteed the customer base.
The costs of burying lines are now borne in some fashion by the developer, municipality and individual consumer. Some localities use special assessment districts, where utility subscribers pay a surcharge to fund the project. This method spreads the cost of the project over a long time.
Homeowners usually have other costs beyond the assessment. For example, power from overhead sources has meters and electric boxes geared to that method of transmission. When utilities go underground, the property owner has to relocate and revamp both, at what Griffin estimates could be $1,500 per unit. That interior work would have to be done by an electrician, with the homeowner picking up the tab.
The Virginia corporation commission report, while not recommending statewide underground utilities, acknowledged, "Certain localities and their citizens might value the aesthetic benefits enough to be willing to plan, implement and fund a local underground initiative."
Long-Term RelocationAlexandria and Arlington County are among the jurisdictions that have such long-range plans.
In 1992, Alexandria began a program to relocate overhead utilities in Old Town and along Mount Vernon Avenue.
The search for greater reliability during storms was a prime consideration in deciding to bury utilities. Alexandria has not only well-aged houses, but also well-aged trees. With overhead lines, "if you're going to have a canopy, you're going to have outages," said Rich Baier, director of transportation and environmental services.
Another concern was the potential health effect of exposure to electromagnetic fields, particularly in the historic district, where 18th century rowhouses are so close to the street-side utility poles. (Such fields are invisible lines of force that surround any electrical device. Studies vary on the amount and type of health risks they present.)
Aesthetics were the final concern. Those poles and wires just don't fit with Old Town's character. However, maintaining that character presents some additional problems and costs. For example, the historic granite curbing must be preserved when utilities are moved, because to replace it would be even more expensive.
The cost of the Alexandria project is shared between the city and Virginia Power. Through its capital improvement budget, the city has embarked on a pay-as-you-go system, setting aside funds annually. Each phase of the six-phase project covers a four-block area and costs $2 million per block, said Baier. Emily Baker, city engineer, noted that it takes several years to design a phase, so money is accumulated before the next phase begins.
Burying utility lines does not entirely eliminate aesthetic concerns. Because of a high water table, above-ground transformers -- either pad- or pole-mounted -- generally accompany underground utilities in this area. The pole-mounted ones are similar to the silver cylindrical transformers now used on overhead lines. The pad-mounted transformers are those 3-foot by 4-foot or larger metal boxes on the ground that are almost as unsightly as the overhead equipment.
The boxes are often targets for graffiti; because they need to be readily accessible, plantings that could be used to camouflage them must be limited.
It's kind of like a tot lot, said Baier. "Everyone wants one, but not next to their house."
Reliability and Repairs
Underground utilities are not foolproof. Outages still happen. Repairs will be needed.
Even though underground utilities are not directly subject to wind and ice damage, or to being hit by vehicles, they are not independent of overhead lines. If an outage occurs in an overhead feeder line, it can affect areas where lines are buried. And those pad and pole transformers are vulnerable.
Underground cables are subject to water damage, corrosion from chemicals used to de-ice streets in the winter, and accidental cuts during digging. Problems can be time-consuming and difficult to locate. Often, large areas must be excavated to reach the source of the problem, making repairs costly -- not to mention destructive to landscaping.
Many utilities in older neighborhoods were not designed to handle the increased load that today's use demands. Expanding service is much easier with overhead lines. Verizon's Creager noted that an urban community may already have underground cable, but the conduits may be too crowded for added service. New services have to snake in and around existing ones.
"The biggest cost factor is not knowing what else is hiding down there," said Steve Caneen, president of Florida-based Huxted Tunneling. That uncertainty is what drives up the costs.
Calling Miss Utility, a clearinghouse that aims to help construction companies avoid cutting utility lines, is just the beginning of the process to avoid damage while digging. While utility mapping has improved in recent years, the reality is that in many urban areas, the underground network is so tangled, and underground records so inaccurate, it's amazing repair crews can function at all.
When utilities went underground beginning in the late 1960s, much of the documentation was on an "as-planned" basis, rather than an "as-installed" basis. On-site zigs and zags to get around pipes, tree roots or buried structures often were not transferred to utility maps.
For example, in the community of Wilton Hall, south of Alexandria, built with underground utilities in the early 1970s, a recent project required workers to dig more than a dozen test holes in Janice Simmons's yard to accurately locate water pipes and gas lines so they were not damaged in the repair process.
"It was a mess," said Simmons, whose lawn was torn up and whose son couldn't use the backyard swing set for several weeks.
No single map shows all underground utilities in a community , said Barny Ratliff, vice president of Pike Electric Inc. in Mount Airy, N.C. Cable, telephone and electricity all have their own mapping systems. "There are a lot of utilities going underground, all looking for a corridor," he said.
Ratliff noted that while electrical lines are often located 30 to 36 inches below ground, once landscaping is done or berms are built, "some older cables may now be seven feet below ground." Cable locating devices start to lose reliability beyond four feet, he said, although technology is rapidly developing more efficient ways to find underground utilities, such as ground-penetrating radar.
The lifespan of overhead utilities is estimated to be 50 years, while those put underground back in the early 1970s were expected to last 30 years.
With new technologies and better materials, today's underground utilities are expected to last considerably longer. The telecommunications industry's switch to fiber optics will provide longer lasting, more reliable service, and fiber optic cable is considerably smaller, requiring smaller conduits. It is less intrusive, presents less risk of damage to other utilities, and if damaged, can be fixed more quickly than copper, said Creager, noting that Verizon's fiber optic installations now exceed those of copper lines by 4 to 1.
Technology should eventually make installation, mapping and repairing of underground utilities easier and less costly. In the meantime, Mary Wharton, a real estate agent in Alexandria, noted one oft-overlooked advantage of overhead utilities: "If there were no telephone poles, where would you put your yard sale signs?"