The Hillsboro Public Works Department’s robust GIS program has managed publicly owned underground sanitary sewer assets for decades. While the public system is mapped accurately, the location of private lateral service pipes is often unknown beyond the point of connection with the public system. Prior to the 1990s, developers did not indicate where laterals crossed into the right-of-way en route to the public sewer system making accurate utility locating difficult or impossible. In 2021 the Public Works Department began the Lateral Accuracy Project (LAP) to address these issues. Contractual services have been enlisted to inspect and locate private laterals and install permanent curb tags. Public Works staff collect tag location data with GNSS equipment and integrate the information into GIS with the help of ArcGIS Field Maps. This multi-year project brings Hillsboro into adherence with state utility locate law, ensures laterals are not damaged during excavation or direction drilling, and increases lateral condition awareness.
