August 11 (8/11) Serves as Convenient Reminder to Always Call 811 Before Digging
August 9, 2010
Canonsburg, Pa. - With August 11 almost here, Columbia Gas hopes this date on the calendar, 8/11, will serve as a natural reminder for residents to call 811 at least three business days prior to any digging project to have underground utility lines marked. This comes on the heels of a recent report by Common Ground Alliance, which determined that an underground utility line is damaged during digging projects ¬once every three minutes nationwide.
When calling 811, homeowners and contractors are connected to the local one call center, PA One Call in Pennsylvania, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of their intent to dig. Professional locators are then sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags, spray paint or both.
Striking a utility line can cause death, injury and inconvenient outages as well as result in repair costs and fines. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree and laying a patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before starting.
“On Aug. 11 and throughout the year, we remind homeowners and professional contractors alike to call 811 before digging to eliminate the risk of striking an underground utility line,” said Dan Cote, General Manager for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania. “Failure to call before digging results in more than 60,000 unintentional hits annually across the country, and we do not want anyone’s project to become part of the statistic.”
The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
Visit www.call811.com or www.pa1call.org for more information about 811 and safe digging practices.
Contact: Mike Marcus
724-416-6333
724-416-3695 (cell)
mmarcus@nisource.com
About Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania