Call 811 before you dig

RBC I Atmos Energy is reminding everyone — homeowners and professional excavators alike — to call 811 before any excavation project. Digging without knowing the location of underground utilities can result in disruptions to critical services, serious injuries and costly reparis to underground utility lines. It is simple and easy to make a free request online or over the phone before digging.

A survey of homeowners conducted by Common Ground Alliance recently revealed that 58% of American homeowners personally plan to complete a home improvement project that involves digging in the next 12 months — and 49% will take a risk by not contacking 811 beforehand. The most popular planned projects among surveyed homeowners who plan to dig include planting a tree or shrub, building a fence, building a deck or patio, installing a mailbox or installing a pool.

Atmos Energy encourages homeowners to take a few precautionary measures when planning a digging project this spring:

• Always contact 811 a few days before digging, regardless of 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, conform that the contractor has contacted 811. Don’t allow work to begin if the lines are not marked.

• Visit 811beforeyoudig.com for complete information. 

Everyone who contacts 811 a few days before digging is connected to a local one-call notification 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. Once a site has been accurately marked, it it is safe to begin digging around the marked areas.