That's where a surprise costs the most: a cut fiber line can take a whole block of businesses offline, and a hit water or gas line shuts the street. We scan before you dig and mark what we find.
Ground Conditions in Delray Beach
Delray Beach has dry sand ridges and soggy low ground within a few blocks of each other. Federal soil surveys show deep, dry sand on the higher ground, but also sandy soil with water 6 to 12 inches down, pockets of organic muck that pond after a rain, and plenty of fill brought in to raise lots for building. On the dry sand, radar sees deep and clear. On the wet ground and muck it sees a lot less, and we tell you how much.
Delray also shows why lines on the property side matter. In 2020 the city shut down its reclaimed water system; on 30 homes on the barrier island, reclaimed lines ran less than 3 feet from drinking water lines, and a cross-connection between the two was found that April. Two pipes that close together can read as one on a quick locate. A careful radar scan can tell them apart when the ground cooperates, and we mark each one separately.
What’s Under the Streets in Delray Beach
Delray Beach runs its own water and sewer, FPL runs the power, and Florida Public Utilities runs the gas. The city has had reclaimed water since 2007. In 2020 the state found 581 customers hooked up without the right backflow protection, the system was shut down, and the city spent more than $1 million on repairs before bringing service back later that year. If your site is on the barrier island, or at one of the golf courses, parks or communities west of I-95 that use it, there may be a purple reclaimed line in the ground alongside the drinking water line.
Delray has had two water main hits by contractors in recent years. In February 2021, a crew putting FPL power lines underground broke a water main at Seagate Drive and Bauhinia Road, and the barrier island went under a boil-water notice. In January 2026, a contractor drilling a well for the city's new $280 million water plant hit a 36-inch water main. Both were professional crews on planned jobs. On one of our own Delray jobs, an electrical and air conditioning contractor had to bore past a gravel work area, residential driveways and landscaping with tight access. The scan showed them where the water, irrigation and lighting lines were before they picked the bore path.
We cover Downtown and Atlantic Avenue, Pineapple Grove, the beach area, Lake Ida, and West Delray, plus nearby Boynton Beach, Boca Raton, and Highland Beach.
