Cooperative Living July 2016 - 10

Currents | by Tom Tate, Contributing Writer
Landscaping Considerations
for Safety and Power Reliability
N
othing makes a
person itch to
get out and get
the yard whipped into
shape more than nice
weather.
That, and the
neighbors having
splashier yards and
landscaping.
But before you dash off to the local
nursery and stock up on shrubs and trees,
take some time to make a landscaping plan
that takes into account where power lines
and other utilities are located, both
overhead and underground.
If your neighborhood is served by
underground utilities, you need to call for
a mark-out. This is a free service that
notifies all participating utilities that they
need to come out and mark the path of
their lines and pipes on the ground using
spray paint. It takes a couple of days but is
worth it. Besides, if you dig into and
damage underground utilities, you may be
responsible for their repair. And if you dig
into your co-op's lines ... well, it can be
deadly. And the number to call is a piece
of cake to remember: 811.
Now that you know where everything is
located, it's time to design your planting
scheme to be sure plants don't grow into the
utilities in the future. Even small shrubs and
trees can grow to the point where their roots
start to contact underground utilities. Over
time they can damage pipes and wires,
leading to problems and poor power
reliability. If work needs to be done to find
and repair the problem, your beautifully
landscaped masterpiece is going to go under
the shovel.
When it comes to overhead services, trees
can create a reliability and safety nightmare.
A tree intertwined with your co-op's power
lines presents a number of problems. As
branches contact the wires in wind and
breezes, you and others can be subjected to
blinks. This is a real nuisance when you
need to reset clocks or when your thesis on
landscape design is lost due to a blink
shutting down your PC.
If the tree or any of its limbs comes down
on the power lines due to storm winds, old
8 | Cooperative Living | July 2016
PLANT-FREE
ZONE
age or ice, you are looking at a possible
outage. The contact may activate protective
devices (blow fuses or open reclosers) or
pull the wires down altogether. Outages
are really a bother but wires down can be
dangerous if they remain energized.
Remember, assume any wire on the ground
is energized, and stay well clear. Call it in
to your co-op if you haven't already.
The solution is to plant well clear of the
overhead power lines. All utilities have
rights-of-way (ROW) they maintain.
Having them free of anything that grows
other than grass is a prime contributor to
reliability. Without trees or shrubs, none of
the problems mentioned above can occur.
And clear ROWs allow your cooperative to
restore service faster because there is no
impediment to equipment getting to the
damage. In addition, crews do not need to
come in and prune the trees away from the
lines. This reduces operating costs, helps
keep your rates low, and avoids a member
becoming the proud owner of an oddly
shaped tree.
The graphic above is an illustration of a
typical plant-free zone. If you are uncertain
of the clearances, contact your co-op for
specifics - its may differ.
Remember, plan your landscaping for
safety and reliability. Use the free 811
service and follow the ROW guidelines
of your cooperative.
You can also plant with energy efficiency/
conservation in mind. Be sure to read the
article on this topic on page 6 in this issue.
ONLINE RESOURCES:
www.arborday.org/programs/treelineusa/rtrp.pdf
www.treesvirginia.org/education/utility-friendly-trees
selectree.calpoly.edu/right-tree-right-place/utilityprecautions.

www.co-opliving.com
http://www.arborday.org/programs/treelineusa/rtrp.pdf http://www.treesvirginia.org/education/utility-friendly-trees http://selectree.calpoly.edu/right-tree-right-place/utility http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living July 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living July 2016
