If you are a contractor, developer, or engineer who needs underground utilities found before digging in California, two locating companies may come up. Bess Utility Solutions is a subsurface utility company headquartered in Hayward, with offices in Sacramento, Fresno, Orange, and Phoenix, Arizona, that pairs locating with potholing, inspection, traffic control, and surveying. SoCal Locators is a minority-owned locating firm based in Fontana that locates and marks water, sewer, storm drain, telecom, and other conductive lines across the Inland Empire and Southern California.
The core tradeoff is a multi-office, multi-service subsurface team against a small, locally operated locating crew. Bess Utility Solutions adds vacuum excavation, GPR concrete scanning, CCTV inspection, leak detection, concrete coring, traffic control, and 3D mapping to its locating work and publishes its certifications. SoCal Locators keeps a narrow focus on finding and marking lines, including a dedicated remarking service, from a base in Fontana.
For California projects that need locating plus potholing, scanning, traffic control, or survey deliverables from one team, we lean toward Bess Utility Solutions. The stakes are high: damage to underground utilities costs the United States an estimated $83.2 billion a year, according to a 2026 Common Ground Alliance report covered by Water Online.
| Quick Verdict Best for Bess Utility Solutions: Contractors, engineers and agencies in California or Arizona that want locating plus potholing, GPR scanning, CCTV, traffic control and survey work from one company with several offices. Best for SoCal Locators: Inland Empire and High Desert contractors and developers that want a small, local crew to locate and remark buried lines on a site. Decision rule: If your project needs utilities located and then exposed, scanned, mapped, or protected with traffic control, choose Bess Utility Solutions. |
| Bess Utility Solutions | SoCal Locators | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Hayward, CA | Fontana, CA (no street address listed) |
| Other offices | Sacramento, Fresno and Orange, CA; Phoenix, AZ | None listed |
| Service area | California and Arizona | 18 named SoCal cities; says it covers California and Arizona |
| Ownership | President and CEO Martha Bohorquez | Minority-owned; leadership not named on its site |
| Experience | Site cites 29 years in utility locating | Site says both 25+ years and more than 50 years |
| Core services | Locating, GPR concrete scanning, CCTV inspection, leak detection | Conductive line locating; water, sewer, storm drain, and telecom lines |
| Added services | Vacuum excavation, traffic control, concrete coring, surveying and 3D mapping | Remarking |
| Certifications | CPUC-certified MBE/DBE; published C31 traffic control licensing documentation | None listed on its site |
| Standards | Says it follows ASCE 38 | Not stated |
| How to request work | Online quote request form | Phone or form, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Public reviews | BBB A rating, no reviews | One testimonial on its site |
Bess Utility Solutions, which also operates as Bess TestLab, Inc., is a subsurface utility company headquartered in Hayward, California, with offices in Sacramento, Fresno and Orange and in Phoenix, Arizona. President and CEO Martha Bohorquez leads the company, which says it has 29 years of experience in utility locating. Its services include underground locating, vacuum excavation and potholing, GPR concrete scanning, CCTV pipeline inspection, leak detection, concrete cutting and coring, traffic control, surveying and 3D mapping. It is a CPUC-certified minority and disadvantaged business enterprise, takes part in PG&E's Gold Shovel Standard program, and says its work follows the ASCE 38 standard. Its main differentiator is a broad service menu delivered by California-based crews.
SoCal Locators is a minority-owned, locally operated underground utility locating firm based in Fontana, California. It locates conductive utility lines such as electrical cables, metal pipes, and communication wires, and it lists dedicated services for water lines, sewer lines, telecommunication lines, and area and storm drain pipes, along with remarking existing marks. Its service area page names 18 cities, from Fontana, San Bernardino and Riverside to Victorville, Temecula, Anaheim and San Diego, and says it covers California and Arizona. Its office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its main differentiator is a small, local locating crew in the Inland Empire.
This is the clearest difference between the two companies.
Bess Utility Solutions covers the project from locating through verification and site protection. Beyond electromagnetic and GPR locating, it offers vacuum excavation and potholing to expose lines, GPR concrete scanning, CCTV pipeline inspection, leak detection, concrete cutting and coring, traffic control under a C31 license, surveying and 3D mapping.
SoCal Locators concentrates on locating and marking. Its pages cover conductive line locating, water, sewer, storm drain, and telecom lines, and remarking of existing marks. Its site does not describe specific equipment such as ground-penetrating radar, and it does not mention ground-penetrating concrete scanning, CCTV, or mapping deliverables.
Why it matters: Plastic water lines and clay sewer pipes cannot be traced directly using standard electromagnetic locating unless they have a detectable tracer wire or another means of transmitting a signal. Ground-penetrating radar may identify non-conductive pipes under suitable ground conditions, while accessible pipes can sometimes be traced using an inserted sonde. Potholing provides physical confirmation of a utility's location and depth before excavation.
If you need non-conductive lines found, depth confirmed, or a site mapped, Bess Utility Solutions fits. If you need conductive lines located and marked on a straightforward site, SoCal Locators fits.
Bess Utility Solutions has the larger footprint, with offices in Hayward, Sacramento, Fresno, and Orange, and a Phoenix office for Arizona work.
SoCal Locators works from Fontana and lists 18 Southern California cities, including Inland Empire cities such as San Bernardino, Ontario and Riverside, High Desert cities such as Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley and Barstow, and coastal and southern cities such as Long Beach, Huntington Beach and San Diego. It also says it covers the entire states of California and Arizona.
Why it matters: a nearby crew shortens travel time and mobilization costs, while a company with several offices can staff larger or multi-site projects.
SoCal Locators is a practical option for locating and remarking projects in the Inland Empire and High Desert, where it has a Fontana base. However, the company also advertises statewide coverage in California and Arizona. Bess Utility Solutions is better suited to projects requiring several subsurface services or support from multiple regional offices.
Bess Utility Solutions publishes more credentials. It is a CPUC-certified minority and disadvantaged business enterprise, takes part in PG&E's Gold Shovel Standard program for contractors working near gas and electric lines, holds a C31 traffic control license, and says its work follows ASCE 38. Its site cites 29 years of experience, while its BBB profile lists a 2024 start under its current name.
SoCal Locators describes itself as minority-owned but does not list a certification, a license, or named leadership on its site. Its experience claims are inconsistent, citing more than 25 years in one place and five decades in another.
Why it matters: utility and public agency contracts often require supplier diversity certification and program participation, and published credentials make a contractor easier to vet.
If your contract calls for MBE/DBE certification or Gold Shovel participation, Bess Utility Solutions fits. If you need a small crew for a private site, SoCal Locators fits.
Neither company publishes prices. Both quote each job.
Bess Utility Solutions takes quote requests through its site and prices by service, site size, and deliverables.
SoCal Locators takes requests by phone and contact form during weekday business hours, and its one published testimonial describes its pricing as reasonable.
To compare fairly, send both companies the same site plan, scope, and schedule, and ask whichmethods theyy will use for non-conductive lines, what deliverables are included, and how mobilization and minimum charges work.
All figures are as of 2026.
Bess Utility Solutions has an A rating on its BBB profile with no customer reviews. Its website cites more than 150 five-star online reviews, which we could not verify. Testimonials on its site praise well-organized survey files and consistent work.
SoCal Locators publishes a customer testimonial on its dedicated reviews page praising punctual service, reasonable pricing, and straightforward communication about locating limitations. Additional testimonials appear on individual service-area pages, although a substantial independent review history was not established.
Public reviews are thin for both, so ask each company for references from projects like yours.
Choose Bess Utility Solutions if:
Choose SoCal Locators if:
Across both companies, clients most often praise organized, dependable work. We found no recurring complaints for either.
A private locator finds buried lines that 811 member utilities do not mark, such as lines past a meter on a campus, plant, or commercial site. Locators use electromagnetic tools and ground-penetrating radar, mark the ground, and often provide a map. Potholing can then confirm depth.
Conductive utilities, such as metal pipes and electrical cables, can often be traced using electromagnetic locating equipment. Non-conductive utilities, including PVC water pipes and clay sewer pipes, require different approaches. These may include locating an installed tracer wire, inserting a sonde into an accessible pipe, or using ground-penetrating radar when site conditions permit. Physical exposure may be needed to verify the location and depth before excavation.
Bess Utility Solutions is headquartered in Hayward, California, with offices in Sacramento, Fresno, and Orange, and an office in Phoenix, Arizona. It provides locating, vacuum excavation, GPR concrete scanning, CCTV inspection, leak detection, traffic control, and surveying from those locations.
SoCal Locators is based in Fontana, California, and names 18 cities on its service area page, including San Bernardino, Ontario, Riverside, Victorville, Temecula, Anaheim, Long Beach, and San Diego. It says it covers California and Arizona and keeps weekday office hours.
Remarking means refreshing paint or flag marks on buried lines after they fade, get covered, or a ticket expires during a long project. SoCal Locators lists remarking as a dedicated service. Ask your locator how long marks stay valid and when you need a new ticket.
Yes. California requires excavators to call 811 at least two working days before digging, according to the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board. A private locator covers lines 811 members don't mark, such as private lines past the meter.
