About Safe Digging
Safe digging starts when you call the Ohio Utilities Protection Service. But that is not where it ends. In fact, it’s only the first step in an ongoing process that requires everyone’s cooperation, responsiveness and good judgement. The importance of safe digging cannot be emphasized enough. Every day throughout America, careless digging causes far reaching consequences, from serious personal injury and environmental damage to costly delays. But by working together as a team, we can keep these unfortunate incidents to a minimum. It is a responsibility that each of us must take personally.
If you are excavating:
Always call the Ohio Utilities Protection Service at 811 or 1-800-362-2764. Call 48 hours before you dig. The call should only take a few minutes. Be ready with all the important information: The municipality, street address, extent and type of work, date and start of excavation, caller’s name, contractor/contact person and phone number.
Then wait for the site to be marked! Markings could be either paint, flags or stakes. Respect and protect the facility operator’s marks. Dig with care. Always hand dig when within 2 feet of either side of any marked lines. If damage, dislocation or disturbance of an underground utility line occurs, immediately notify the affected facility, utility or pipeline.
If someone is digging on your property:
Be sure that they have contacted the Ohio Utilities Protection Service and that the facility operators have marked their underground lines before any work begins.
By not calling, here’s what you could be getting into:
- Personal injury
- Damage to the environment
- Costly property damage
- Costly delays and expensive repairs
- Legal problems
- Civil penalties
*Damage to these utility lines: communications (i.e. telephone, long distance communications, cable television, 911 emergency, fire and police communications), electric, gas, pipelines, sewer, traffic signals and water lines.
