Watertown Utilities Brace for Bluepeak Fiber Expansion and Surge in Utility Locate Requests

Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - The Watertown Municipal Utilities (WMU) board is bracing for a major infrastructure undertaking as Bluepeak prepares to overlay the town with 100% fiber optic cable. The expansive telecommunications project promises to modernize the city’s broadband capabilities but brings considerable logistical hurdles for the utilities department.

During a meeting on Monday, the WMU board was presented with the project’s scope and the need for third-party locating services to manage the incoming wave of utility locate requests.

The Scope of the Bluepeak Expansion 

Bluepeak’s plan to bring a 100% fiber optic overlay to Watertown is set to kick off in mid-July officially. The telecommunications company will start the process with a single crew, which will be responsible for covering “approximately 9 miles this year”.

However, the project will scale up dramatically over the next few years.

According to Director of Operations Bert Magstadt, the department’s project scope review states, “By 2027, they will expand to 34 areas totaling 170 miles of cable”.

In-House Locating Challenges 

Before any ground can be broken for the new fiber lines, state law requires that all existing underground utilities—such as water, gas, and electricity—be properly marked or “located” to prevent accidental damage.

This presents a severe administrative and operational bottleneck for the city.

Magstadt noted during the meeting that WMU “currently processes 5,000–6,000 locates annually”.

The sheer volume of the upcoming digging operations will push those numbers to unprecedented heights.

Magstadt told the board that “the Bluepeak project will generate thousands of additional locate requests, overwhelming the current in-house staff”.

The Third-Party Solution 

To prevent project delays and ensure the safety of existing municipal infrastructure, WMU is turning to the private sector for help.

The board outlined a solution to “hire a third-party locator to shadow the Bluepeak crews” as they work their way through the city. To secure the best deal for the city, the department is currently in the process of gathering “quotes from three regional contractors”.

These quotes will be reviewed and brought before the board for final approval at a special meeting scheduled for mid-July, aligning with Bluepeak’s planned start date.

Controlling Costs: Per-Ticket vs. Flat Daily Rate 

A key discussion point for the board was the financial structure of the third-party contracts. The industry standard dictates that “third-party locators usually charge per ticket or a flat daily rate”.

A “per-ticket” system charges the city a fee for every individual locate request generated.

However, the WMU board expressed concerns about the potential for abuse under this pricing model.

The board stated that it “favors a flat daily rate to prevent contractors from rapidly generating individual tickets just to drive up billable costs”.

By locking in a flat daily rate, the WMU hopes to seamlessly facilitate Bluepeak’s 170-mile fiber optic expansion while protecting from artificially inflated municipal expenses.

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