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Many of the homes in the Greater Vancouver Area are decades old. While this lends a certain charm and history to the area, it also comes with a few unique concerns about antiquated infrastructures on the property. One such concern is the possibility of an abandoned underground oil tank, especially in Lower Mainland cities such as Abbotsford that were founded over a century ago. If your home was built before 1980, there’s a considerable possibility that your home has a decommissioned oil tank buried underground. Here are some signs that you may need an oil tank removal in Abbotsford.
Incorporated in 1892, Abbotsford has steadily grown over the last hundred years to a population of 170,000. Before the advent of natural gas and electric heating, most homes relied on a system of pipes heated by oil (supplied by an underground steel tank buried on the property). Over the years, oil heating proved to be far less efficient, more taxing on the environment, and more expensive than the new options. As homeowners moved away from this style of heating, they were left with the question of what to do with the buried oil tanks. Unfortunately, there was no regulatory body in place determining how to best dispose of these tanks, so most were simply capped off and left alone. Now that we have a better understanding of the destructive potential of abandoned oil tanks for our home and property, the surrounding environment, and the health and safety of our soil and groundwater, we understand the importance of oil tank removal in Abbotsford.
In an ideal situation, you’ll know you have a buried oil tank on your property if you can still see the fill pipe sticking out of the ground somewhere around your home’s exterior. These can be hidden sometimes by debris or shifting soil, so look closely. Alternatively, you may notice a vent pipe near the outside of your home or even small copper piping in the basement that looks to be closed or pinched off (as copper was the material of choice for carrying heated oil throughout the house). Other indicators are a bald patch of vegetation as plant life cannot thrive in contaminated soil (from a leaking tank). You may also notice a depression in the ground above the tank if the tank has caved in at any point.
Although your oil tank may be old, thankfully, the technology to remove it is not. Advancements in ground penetrating radar have made oil tank removal in Abbotsford as non-invasive as possible. Trained GPR scanner techs can survey the property with their equipment and use the data collected to get a visual map of what lies beneath the surface. Specialized technology and software can differentiate between old pipes, debris, rebar, and even air pockets, to identify your oil tank and set a perimeter for excavation. If you need any environmental testing to determine the degree of soil contamination, our expert crew here at West Coast Tank Recovery can arrange for this process. Once a plan is in place, we can remove the tank safely, and efficiently, and even help with any soil remediation required afterwards.
Living with an abandoned oil tank on your property can be worrisome, and the condition of the tank will only deteriorate further with time. Save yourself costly scenarios down the road by scheduling an oil tank removal in Abbotsford sooner rather than later.