Do you call before digging?

An underground utility line is damaged every six minutes in the U.S., according to data collected by Common Ground Alliance (CGA). The reason being digging by every other person without calling 811. Digging without knowing what lies beneath the surface can result in severe damages to electric, gas, water, communications, and sewer lines. As a result, there would be emergency services disruptions, injuries, and hefty repairs.

What is 811?

If you are a homeowner or contractor, you should dial 811 before you go on with any digging activities in any location within the U.S. Once you dial 811, you’ll be made aware of the underground lines (e.g. pipes, cables, and associated utilities) that lie under that particular location. If you dig without knowing the underground stuff, you may make your entire neighborhood suffer due to disruption of emergency services, harm yourself, and even incur potential fines and costly repairs. The apparently neat surface you see with naked eyes, walk, and drive every day, holds an enormous amount of buried utilities. As a matter of fact, there are more than 20 million miles of underground utilities in the United States. According to data compiled by CGA, this enormous figure equates to more than one football field’s length (105 yards) of buried utilities for each citizen. To avoid any confusion of having multiple “Call Before You Dig” numbers, 811 is designated by the Federal Communications Commission as the national “Call Before You Dig” number. This number is easy to remember, use, and same for every state.

What Happens After Calling 811?

All calls to 811 are routed to a local call center and the affected utilities. The utility then sends crews to your place to mark all the underground lines for free. Just making a call to 811 ensures that your neighborhood hood and you remain safe and connected. As per data, when you make a call to 811 before digging, you run the chance of striking a buried a utility line less than 1%.

Do people call 811 before digging?

Unfortunately, the answer is no in spite of running the risk of suffering due to potential damages and penalties. According to a recent survey conducted in March 2015, about 45% of the U.S. homeowners who plan to dig this year for projects such as landscaping, installing a fence or mailbox, or building a deck, pond or patio, will put themselves and their communities at risk by not calling 811. Don’t make a judgment call. Rather, call 811 and keep your family, community, and yourself safe. To know more about how the 811 calling system works, visit www.call811.com. To know about the industry best practises in connection with preventing damages to underground facilities, visit www.commongroundalliance.com.