Today, August 11, is 811 day. 811 is the day to highlight pipeline safe digging. Did you know digging without calling 811 first increases the chances you’ll knock out utility service for you or your neighborhood? Hitting a utility or pipeline could result in an injury or even a fatality. It also could result in a big fire and a disruption in services to you and your neighbors.
The toll-free 811 number works in every state. A call center will help identify underground utilities on your property, and if necessary, send a professional – at no cost – to mark the location on your property of gas lines, electric lines and telephone, television or internet cables plus other elements of the underground infrastructure, including pipelines, so you avoid them
A call must be placed to 811 before every digging project, from simple landscaping projects like planting trees or shrubs, to building a deck or installing a rural mailbox. Every six minutes an underground utility line or pipeline is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811. Don’t become part of the statistic – make sure to call 811!
Be safe and call before you dig, always. Visit http://www.call811.com to learn more about 811 and safe digging practices.
