REAL LIFE LESSON ON THE WHY OF DAMAGE PREVENTION
The Vulcan Utility Signs team attended the SGA (Southern Gas Association) Natural Gas Conference and Expo 2021 from October 18th to the 20th. The event took place at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC right across from the Nascar Hall of Fame. The Natural Gas Conference and Expo for SGA normally takes place during the summer. However, due to the pandemic it was pushed back to October for 2021.
Vulcan has attended this Expo for many years as it is a fantastic opportunity to network with our customers and fellow vendors to continue to advance the natural gas industry. One of the main galls of SGA is to continue to advance the industry to a more safe and sustainable future. Unfortunately, all the attendees at the conference got to experience the real-life importance of making sure that all buried assets are properly maintained, and effective processes are in place to prevent their accidental damage.
On 10/18/2021 at approximately 5pm, a large water main break occurred in the city of Charlotte. This break was deemed “historical” as nearly half of the residents and visitors to the city were impacted by this break. All the hotels near the Charlotte Convention Center lost water for most of the night on 10/18. Even when all water was restored to city by 12:30am on 10/19, these hotels were under a boil water advisory for the rest of the conference. While a boil water advisory is never a convenient time, it was especially difficult for the attendees staying at hotels trying to get all their water needs from plastic water bottles.
No one wants to go through an event like this where they lose access to one or more utility. Whether it is a water or sewer line, gas pipeline, or fiber conduct, any loss of service can impact the safety and well being of those affected. This is why damage prevention is so important and why our products we manufacture are so important to the utility industry. While signs won’t resolve all damage to buried assets, just as our tagline here at Vulcan says, if you mark it, you will have a much higher chance of protecting it.