Damages to Buried Utilities Cost the U.S. Approximately $30 Billion in 2019

in transmissions, including more digging activity, increased awareness of 811, better compliance with notification regulations due to state enforcement, more facility operators becoming members of one call centers, over-notification by excavators, or changes in how one call centers transmit tickets to members. Furthermore, it may not be the increase in transmissions alone stressing the system, but periodic unanticipated surges that impact the ability of locators to complete them all in a timely manner.

In 2019 alone, failure to prevent damages had a significant economic impact on the U.S., with an estimated $30 billion in societal costs, which includes direct (facility repair) and indirect (property damage, medical expenses, business closures, etc.) expenditures.

Estimating the societal costs of damages to buried infrastructure gives the industry, regulators and lawmakers another lens through which to focus on just how critical it is to prevent damages. In 2019 alone, the cost of damages in the U.S. is estimated to be $30 billion, which represents an enormous amount of public and private resources that could be used more meaningfully if we are able to dramatically reduce damages. For perspective, consider that $30 billion is more than double the U.S.’s federal law enforcement budget for 2019.

To estimate the societal impact costs for 2019, Green Analytics examined both direct and indirect costs. The 2016 DIRT Report also estimated societal impact costs but utilized a different model and examined only direct costs of damages. Direct costs would include repair of the damaged utility and restoration of service to impacted customers. Indirect costs include but are not limited to property damage, medical expenses, loss of commerce while businesses are interrupted or evacuated, time spent in traffic due to road closures or detours, increased insurance premiums, litigation costs and reputational damage.

Green Analytics reviewed DIRT data, research from Canada and the United Kingdom, and publicly available data from PHMSA for U.S. natural gas and liquid pipeline damages to produce an estimated range of $400 million to $1.985 billion for direct repair costs and indirect costs ranging from $12 to $60 billion. Taking the medians of the range of direct and indirect costs produces a best overall estimate of $30 billion in total societal costs from damages to buried facilities. Appendix E describes the modeling approach in detail.