‘Call before you dig’ important to avoid utility service disruption
Digging without knowing the approximate location of underground utilities can result in serious injury or death, inconvenient service disruptions, and costly fines and repairs.
Making a free request before digging online at tenn811.com or by calling 811 will help everyone who digs maintain essential utility service for their communities, while keeping themselves and their neighbors safe by reducing the likelihood of accidentally digging into buried utility lines.
“When residents don’t contact 811 a few days before digging, they put themselves and their neighbors at serious risk of injury and utility service interruptions,” said Darren Hatter, Training and Compliance Manager. “We found that 56% of homeowners were not planning to notify local utility companies of their digging project, yet 95% said they value their contractors calling 811 or submitting an online request. We want to emphasize the importance of contacting 811 for anyone who plans to dig, so they can safely avoid buried lines.”
When asked why homeowners aren’t planning to call 811, the top reasons are related to beliefs around shallow digging and unfamiliarity with the 811 notification process.
As part of National Safe Digging Month, PCUD encourages everyone to take the following steps when planning a digging project this spring:
• Always contact 811 a few days before digging, regardless of the depth or familiarity with the property.
• Plan ahead. Make a free 811 request on Monday or Tuesday for work planned for an upcoming weekend, providing ample time for the approximate location of lines to be marked.
• Confirm that all lines have been marked.
• Consider moving the location of your project if it is near utility line markings.
• If a contractor has been hired, confirm that the contractor has contacted 811. Don’t allow work to begin if the lines aren’t marked.
• Visit tenn811.com for complete information.
Everyone who contacts 811 a few days before digging is connected to a local 811 center that will take the caller’s information and communicate it to local utility companies. Professional locators will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate location of underground utility lines with spray paint, flags or both.