Calling 811 for FREE Underground Utility Locate
Why call 811 to have your underground utilities marked? You will be responsible for damages to underground utilities you cut or damage if you have not notified the utility first.
Utilities ONLY mark the underground lines that they are responsible for!
So even though the water line runs all the way from the meter to your house, the water company only installs it to the main meter and that is where their responsibility stops. Normally the builder runs the line from the meter to the house. Same goes for the electrical lines, and sewer lines.
So why bother? Many subdivision yards will have main underground trunk lines going thru an easement. It is still your property, they are allow to use that piece of property. Examples are major gas trunk lines, electrical lines, cable lines, telephone lines, fiber optic lines and more. Some fiber optic lines can cost $50,000 to repair…so call ahead and don’t cut one of these.
“Participating utilities” usually have 3 business days to get your underground lines marked on your property. Not all utilities participate with the statewide 811 program, but most do. When you contact 811 they will give you a list of the companies coming out to mark your property. If your utility company is not on the list they give you, ask about it. Sometimes they get left off the notification list. They mark these lines with COLOR SPECIFIC PAINT. They try to mark as best as possible and will have about a 24″ to 36″ margin of error, meaning you have to stay 2′ to 3′ away from the lines while digging.
Once they come out and mark where the utility lines are on your property, it’s a great idea to use a cell phone to take photos of the markings and save to a file on your computer, name your file folder Backyard Utility Location. Then you can drop photos of the marked lines and photo of your authorization # if you ever need it again.
Call 811 – Here is the info you need to have ready
Name
Address
County
Contact phone #
Where on property project is to be located
Here is the info you will need to write down
Info you need ready
Info you will receive
Utility Locates
Use WHITE paint to mark your project location in the yard. Locators use red, orange, yellow, and blue for their markings.
Not Marked Utilities
Utility companies only mark their lines to where their responsibility ends. So the builder connects the electric line from the transformer to the house, the builder connects the water line from the meter to the house. Gas and cable are normally marked all the way to the house.