Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Information

Two Important Key Messages

  • If you smell natural gas, move to a safe location and call Columbia Gas of Ohio at 1-800-344-4077, and your local fire department at 9-1-1
  • Anyone planning to do any kind of digging needs to call the Ohio Utilities Protection Service at 8-1-1 at least 2 business days prior to starting work. Wait for underground utilities to be marked, then dig carefully around underground utilities. The majority of natural gas pipeline incidents are caused by third-party damage to buried lines.

Natural Gas Pipeline Delivery System

  • Depending on the type of pipeline involved, Columbia Gas of Ohio inspects its lines at 6-month (i.e. 2 times a year), annual, 3-year and 5-year intervals.
  • Our transmission class lines that run through densely populated areas are inspected for leaks twice a year, and undergo integrity assessments every 7 years. Integrity assessments are designed to identify pipeline issues before leaks or ruptures occur. They involve pressure tests, “smart pigging” (inline inspections), and above-ground corrosion inspections to identify coating flaws or areas of inadequate cathodic protection. All problems identified during the assessment are addressed.
  • Columbia Gas of Ohio spends approximately $120 million a year replacing main lines and service lines, and another $34 million a year operating and maintaining these lines.
  • Columbia Gas of Ohio uses multiple levels of review to determine which pipelines require replacement. This includes computerized analyses and reviews by our engineering and operations departments.
  • We operate a staffed control center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year which monitors pressure on our major gas delivery pipelines. This center can remotely control or re-route gas flow, as well as immediately dispatch maintenance crews, if necessary.
  • Columbia Gas of Ohio has begun a $2 billion, 25-year program to replace bare steel and cast-iron distribution pipe in our system.
You can check out all the areas throughout the state where Columbia Gas is working to make Pipeline Improvements