SWEETWATER
UTILITY
EXPLORATION
PRIVATE UTILITY LOCATING COMPANY
Sweetwater Utility Exploration SWEETWATER
UTILITY
EXPLORATION
PRIVATE UTILITY LOCATING COMPANY
American Airlines - Sweetwater Utility Exploration PROVIDING ACCURATE AND RELIABLE SERVICE IN A SAFE AND PROMPT MANNER SWEETWATER
UTILITY
EXPLORATION
SWEETWATER
UTILITY
EXPLORATION
PROVIDING ACCURATE AND RELIABLE SERVICE IN A SAFE AND PROMPT MANNER
SWEETWATER
UTILITY
EXPLORATION
PROVIDING ACCURATE AND RELIABLE SERVICE IN A SAFE AND PROMPT MANNER
job site SWEETWATER
UTILITY
EXPLORATION
PRIVATE UTILITY LOCATING COMPANY

Safety & Wellbeing

Focus on safety and wellbeing for the community, environment, and infrastructure.

Sweetwater Utility Exploration was featured in the industry magazine, Dig Different , because of their focus on the company’s approach to safety and why it is so important.

Attention to the Details

We pride ourselves on running a company that pays attention to the details and follows a very thorough order of operations for every project.

Diversity & Inclusion

We are proud to be a Certified Woman Owned Small Business and a Certified Vendor with the City of Charlotte, Charlotte Business Inclusion Program.

Find more information about the Charlotte Business Inclusion Program here.

For more information about the benefits of working with Woman Owned Small Businesses, read here.

About

ABOUT

We are a family owned, private utility locating company with a focus on safety and wellbeing for the community, environment, and infrastructure.

FOCUS ON SAFETY

Sweetwater Utility Exploration, LLC opened in 2013. The company is a family owned business specializing in private utility locating with a focus on safety and wellbeing for the community, environment, and infrastructure.

TRUSTED PARTNER

Sweetwater has been a trusted partner with contractors in the Charlotte region, working on projects at CLT Airport, including Concourse B Renovation, East Terminal Phase II Expansion, Concourse D Renovation and Carolinas Aviation Museum – Site Development Project.

POSITIVE & PROFESSIONAL

Matt and his teams always have a positive, professional attitude to every project, regardless of the project locations or work restrictions that are associated with working around Charlotte Airport flight operations. Matt is customer focused and will do whatever it takes to provide the highest quality locating services for his clients.

CHARLOTTE
MINORITY  ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

 

2022 WINNER OF OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

About
Services

OUR SERVICES

Utility Designating and GPR

All Sweetwater employees are thoroughly trained on the use of multiple pieces of electromagnetic (EM) utility locating equipment, ground penetrating radar, passive locating equipment, and sondes.  Sweetwater has found it necessary to be very versatile using a variety of equipment on each job to make sure we do the most thorough job possible.  We bring 2 crew members and every piece of locating equipment to every job so we can complete whatever may be necessary.

 

We use the best locating equipment on the market.  Rigid SR60’s for multiple frequency EM and Passive locating, Metrotech 810’s for EM Locating and inductive sweeping of the entire project, 8khz sondes and rodders for locating plastic pipes, Metrotech Vivax Pro’s for  multiple frequency EM and Passive locating, Rigid small pipe snake camera’s for viewing inside small pipes, Mala ground Penetrating Radar’s for locating plastic utilities and underground facilities such as tanks,  Impulse Dual frequency GPR for locating plastic utilities and underground facilities and Schonstedt Metal detectors to find buried valves and manholes.

Utility Mapping

Sweetwater Utility provides approximate mapping services.

Sweetwater teamed with a software company to development a program that allows us to create approximate maps of the utilities we designate.

The data is acquired using a Geode GPS device. Depending on the location of the project most of our information is within 3 to 10 inches horizontally when shot in. The software on the tablet allows us to collect the data and process the information in real time. We then create two deliverables. First is a PDF map with an aerial background of the site with the underground utilities and associated surface structures overlayed as highlighted lines and images. Second a KMZ file is produced that can be manipulated by the client in Google Earth.

We have found this to be an extremely useful tool. It is not as accurate as professional grade survey. However, the maps usefulness being it is an arial image with all of utilities overlayed cannot be overstated. The map is extremely easy to interpret allowing anyone on-site to have an in-depth understanding of the subsurface utilities. Creating these maps also allows Sweetwater to keep a collection of all utilities that we have mapped. We can then in turn use these maps if we return to the same site as a reference for future work. 

Off Road 4x4 Buggy

Off Road 4×4 Buggy We utilize our two- or four-seater buggy for many purposes. Generally, we use it on large job sites to carry equipment where it would not be feasible to move our trucks around. However, we also find it useful to scope job sites with clients and inspect right of ways. Using the buggy greatly reduces our time on the job sites, the impact our large vehicles would have on site and stress on our employees. The buggy is equipped with strobes and logos for safety also. 

High Frequency GPR

Sweetwater utilizes a Mala High Frequency concrete scanning ground penetrating radar for very specific scanning projects.

The High Frequency GPR allows us to scan floors and walls to produce a 3D image of all structures, utilities and voids within the scanned area. The 3D image scan takes about 5 minutes to accomplish. The on-board computer then processes the information and produces a 3D image within an average of 3 minutes. We can then immediately transfer all of the results onto the floor or wall of the project site. The scans are also saved in the computer and can be delivered to the client for reporting or future use.

General uses for the High Frequency GRP are to find “clear” paths for borings or corings as to avoid cutting any rebar or utilities, determine the amount and depth of rebar for structural engineering, determine if a block wall has been backfilled with cement or rebar, locate post tension cables, and to locate utilities within a floor or wall. 

Land Clearing

Brush cutting services to access overgrown property.

Skid Steer with brush cutter. We utilize the skid steer for many tasks such as moving backfill material, moving drums, and most importantly clearing overgrown areas for access. When needed we use the skid steer and brush cutter to clear terrain so we can successfully GPR, gain access for our Vacuum excavation rigs, and general clearing for our clients. Duke power and the gas company have found it to be especially useful on their right of ways.

Facility Preservation

Facility avoidance for monitoring wells and soil boring installation. 

Standard GPR

Sweetwater has over 32 years of combined experience with utility designating and ground penetrating radar. We are considered some of the most highly qualified in the region and have a reputation of excellence within the North and South Carolina regions.

All employees are thoroughly trained on the use of multiple pieces of electromagnetic (EM) utility locating equipment, ground penetrating radar, passive locating equipment, and sondes. We have found it necessary to be very versatile using a variety of equipment on each job to make sure we do the most thorough job possible. We bring 2 crew members and every piece of locating equipment to every job so we can complete all client needs at the project site.

We use the best locating equipment on the market. Rigid SR60’s for multiple frequency EM and Passive locating, Metrotech 810’s for EM Locating and inductive sweeping of the entire project, 8khz sondes and rodders for locating plastic pipes, Metrotech Vivax Pro’s for multiple frequency EM and Passive locating, Rigid small pipe snake camera’s for viewing inside small pipes, Mala ground Penetrating Radar’s for locating plastic utilities and underground facilities such as tanks, Impulse Dual frequency GPR for locating plastic utilities and underground facilities and Schonstedt Metal detectors to find buried valves and manholes.

Vacuum Excavation

Vacuum Excavation has numerous uses but there are two main services for which it is used. To determine the precise position of an existing utility (Test Hole). To determine a visibly verified utility free path for the installation or advancement of a solid structure into the ground such as a drill augur for well installation (Clear Hole).
Vacuum Excavation: Nondestructive vacuum excavation utilizes high-pressure air expelled through a steel lance to disturb the soil. No direct contact is made between the soil and the steel lance. The pressure of the air breaks apart the soil.
The soil is then extracted via vacuum into a hopper. This process alleviates the possibility of damaging the utility while gaining the knowledge of the utility’s exact vertical and horizontal location. In the case of a Clear Hole, this process allows visual verification that no utilities are present in the excavated location. Once all measurements are made and information is gathered the extracted soil is then removed from the hopper. If the soil is not contaminated it can be placed back into the hole. If the soil is contaminated it can be dumped directly into a drum or a spoils pile. Once the hole is refilled and compacted in lifts the hole it topped with the removed grass plug, cold patch asphalt, or concrete depending on the original excavated surface.

  • API WorkSafe
  • Defensive Driving (Smith System On-Road)
  • OSHA 40 Hour HAZWOPPER
  • OSHA 8 Hour Refresher
  • OSHA 10 Hour (Construction Safety and Health)
  • Environmental Health and Safety Level III
  • Marathon T & L Contractor Safety Orientation
  • OSHA Physical
  • First Aid and CPR
  • Duke Power ONBOARD Certified
Services

SWAMP DONKEY

Sweetwater has fabricated a one-of-a-kind off-road vacuum excavation vehicle. This is a true 4 x 4 vehicle designed for the purpose of completing vacuum excavation test holes on utilities in the most remote areas. With the on board 375cfm HP compressor and mobile drum vacuum system we are able to dig in nearly any situation. Once the truck gets near the vacuum excavation location, we lead compressor hoses and the small drum vac to the exact test hole location. This includes the ability to dig in areas such as small alleys ways, those too small to fit a truck, and even indoors if necessary.

Project Example: We recently completed a 20-test hole project on two PSNC high pressure gas mains. The project consisted of profiling the exact vertical and horizontal location of both highly sensitive high pressure natural gas lines in multiple locations at great distances off the roadway. With pipeline inspectors to oversee us we traversed the muddy and hilly terrain and successfully completed the project in under two days well below the 5-day deadline that was given to us.

We have utilized our off-road excavation vehicle to complete test holes for PSNC pipelines, Colonial pipelines, Transco pipelines, Magellan Pipelines, Williams Pipelines, Duke Power ROW’s, numerous municipal water and sewer ROW’s, Power Plants, Charlotte Douglas Airport, and for multiple environmental firms to assist in contamination clean-up.

We believe we truly have one of the most adverse terrain capable and versatile vacuum excavation trucks in the industry. 

Let’s Talk About Your Project
Works

OUR PROJECTS

We believe our work speaks for itself. Browse our most recent projects below.

Lounge Upgrades
Lincoln Commerce Center Development
Raw Water Supply Project
Works

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TAILGATE

A “Behind the Scenes” look at what’s going on at Sweetwater.

We have utilized our off-road excavation vehicle to complete test holes for PSNC pipelines, Colonial pipelines, Transco pipelines, Magellan Pipelines, Williams Pipelines, Duke Power ROW’s, numerous municipal water and sewer ROW’s, Power Plants, Charlotte Douglas Airport, and for multiple environmental firms to assist in contamination clean-up. 

Someone should call Mike Rowe. Seriously, Matt is not afraid to get down in the trenches with his crew. And the smile, that is typical.

A day at the races. You can also see that we especially like things that go fast.

team

MEET THE OWNERS

matt1

MATT BELLMANN

CO-OWNER and PROJECT MANAGER

As an Owner and Project Manager (PM) for Sweetwater Utility Exploration, Matt Bellmann has worked on numerous subsurface utility engineering (SUE) projects covering various states and counties throughout the country. Matt is efficient with Metro Tech 810, Metro Tech 850, Surelock, RD, Pipehorn, Seektech, Vivax, Survey Equipment, and multiple Mala GPR units. Matt has been working in the SUE field for over 15 years. During his career Matt has worked on projects in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, Washington, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia. He started as a field technician for So-Deep U.S.P.C.. Within two years completed the rigorous Project Manager Training Program and became a Project Manager. After numerous years on the road with So-Deep, Matt accepted a Project Manager position at Taylor, Wiseman & Taylor (TWT). He began as a PM in TWT’s Cary, NC office and then moved and started a successful SUE department for TWT’s Charlotte, NC office. Matt then decided to follow his dream and begin his own company, Sweetwater Utility Exploration, LLC.

sandy

SANDY BELLMANN

CO-OWNER and CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

As an owner and Chief Financial Officer [CFO] for Sweetwater Utility Exploration. Sandy Bellmann assists in all accounts payable, accounts receivable, marketing, client relations, payroll and contract review and set-up. Sandy graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelors of Science in Nutrition. In 2001, Sandy graduated from East Carolina University with a Masters of Science in Nutrition. Sandy is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian in the State of North Carolina.

Our mission is to provide accurate and reliable service in a safe and prompt manner.

Matt Bellmann - Owner
team
Clients

TAKE IT FROM OUR CLIENTS

Clients

GET CONNECTED

Let’s Talk About Your Project

CONTACT US

We welcome you to contact us for more information
about any of our services.