In observance of National Safe Digging Month in April, Columbia Gas of Kentucky today shared results from a recent national survey revealing that 74% of U.S. homeowners plan to dig on their property this year. Of those planning projects, more than 49.3 million Americans will put themselves and their communities at risk by not contacting 811 before digging.
Thousands of buried utilities are damaged each year due to digging activities. Safe Digging Month reminds homeowners and contractors that digging without knowing the approximate location of underground utilities can result in serious injuries, inconvenient service disruptions and costly repairs when gas, electric, communications, water and sewer lines are damaged.
Making a free locate request online at kentucky811.org or by calling 811 at least two full working days before digging will help maintain essential utility service while keeping excavators and their communities safe by reducing the likelihood of accidentally digging into buried lines. After an initial contact of 811, professional locators will mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags, spray paint, or both. Each color of paint and/or flag represents a unique type of underground utility. The flags may be removed once the project is fully complete. To learn more information or to see the complete color code guide visit columbiagasky.com/811 .
Damaging an underground utility line can cause inconvenient outages, costly repairs, injury, and fines. Regardless of whether you’re installing a mailbox, planting trees, or performing any other outdoor digging project, Columbia Gas of Kentucky encourages you to take the following steps:
- Always call 811 or contact kentucky811.org at
least two full working days before digging, regardless of the depth or familiarity with the property.
- Plan ahead. Call 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 once two full working days have passed. To view the status of locate requests, visit the Kentucky 811 Ticket Search & Status site.
- Once lines are marked, only hand dig within 24” on either side of the width of the utility line.
- 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 kentucky811.org for additional information and to view Kentucky’s Dig Law.
About the study
SurveyMonkey conducted a national omnibus study on Feb. 27 on behalf of CGA. A total of 1,058 self-identified homeowners ages 18+ were asked about their homeowner status and opinions on home and property improvement project topics. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.
