Imagine walking across your favourite park on the Sunshine Coast. Kids on swings, joggers weaving between trees, a dog chasing a ball. It all seems normal, peaceful. But beneath the surface, something else might be happening – pipes have shifted, utilities lie undocumented, old trenches silently fill with water, voids may form under the turf.
At South-East Scanning, we’ve worked enough job sites to know: what you don’t see beneath your feet can cause more trouble than what you do. In urban green spaces, repurposed lots, sports fields, and parks across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast – the ground often hides surprises. That’s where Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) comes in.
🌿 A Typical Park, An Unexpected Discovery
We were called into a seemingly routine job: a small council on the Sunshine Coast preparing a playground for an upgrade. The plans said “clear site” – no pipes, no footings, nothing unusual. But the contractor wanted to double-check before core-drilling for new lighting.
We rolled in our GPR rig and scanned the turf in a grid pattern. What we found shocked the team: multiple parallel anomalies running just 600 mm under the surface – old irrigation lines and a decommissioned fuel fill -orchestrated decades ago before records were digitised. One of those old lines had begun to collapse, forming a void under the surface. The mistake? If they had drilled blindly, the soil could’ve dropped unexpectedly, leaving a hazard or a significant repair bill.
The playground upgrade went ahead after remediation. The site was safe. And because of one quick scan, no disruption. No hidden crisis waiting in the turf.
🔍 Why GPR Matters in Parks, Fields & Urban Green Spaces
We often associate GPR with concrete slabs or utilities in buildings. But in parks and open spaces, two things make it especially valuable:
1. Undocumented infrastructure and legacy services
Many parks were once industrial sites, service yards or stockpiles. Over time, old pipes, tanks, and trenches were buried, forgotten or back-filled with little record. BYDA (Dial Before You Dig) may come up empty, but that doesn’t mean the ground is clear.
2. Lower tolerance for disruption, higher need for safety
Parks and public spaces must stay open, surface stability must be maintained, and trees must be protected. Coring or excavation without subsurface certainty is a risk to safety and reputation.
GPR bypasses both these issues – non-invasive, fast, and gives you a map of what’s beneath. It turns guesswork into confidence.
🧰 What We Look for in a Park Scan
Using the right tools and skills is key. On these jobs, we often scan for:
- Old service lines, irrigation, buried conduits
- Fill pockets and voids under turf or artificial grass
- Disused tanks, collapsed trenches, or subsidence zones
- Depth and footprint of existing utilities before landscaping
Because the surface might be grass, trees, or playground surfacing, our scanning uses laser control points, ensuring every anomaly is accurately located on site.
🎯 A Case Study: The Sports Field Turnaround
At a suburban sports field near Brisbane, the club planned to install a new drainage system. But previous works decades ago had left heavy concrete slabs, large footings and hidden pits beneath the surface. BYDA returned minimal hits. We were engaged to scan ahead.
Our GPR survey revealed a grid of large concrete foundations and pockets of inconsistent soil compaction adjacent to the field. With depth data and plan-view annotated maps in hand, the civil contractor redesigned the drainage layout to avoid the slab zones, prevented future sinkhole formation, and saved thousands in potential remediation. The field stayed operational and safe for the seasons ahead.
✅ Final Thought: Before You Dig the Turf, Scan It
Whether you’re gearing up for playground upgrades, sports field drainage, landscaping or any public-space works – trust what you see on the surface – but verify what lies beneath. At South-East Scanning, we provide the subsurface clarity so you can proceed with confidence.
Ready to walk on the grass without wondering what’s under it? Let’s talk. Partner with an experienced GPR scanning provider to ensure safe, efficient, and successful projects every time.
