If you plan to plant trees for Earth Day and Arbor Day projects, remember to call 811 ahead of time to have underground utility lines marked before digging begins.  

Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. You are responsible for having lines marked, regardless of whether they are planting a sapling or a full-grown tree. The best way to avoid damaging your utilities and risking injury or loss of service is to call 811 a few days before digging to learn the approximate location of buried lines in your area.

Everyone who calls 811 is connected to a local center which notifies the appropriate utility companies of the caller’s intent to dig. Professional locators are sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags or spray paint. Once lines have been properly marked, digging can begin around the marked lines.

The depth of utility lines can vary for many reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surface. Underground utility lines are too often damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811.

With the possibility of utility lines only a few inches from the surface, this simple call to 811 will help volunteers, contractors and do-it-yourself diggers avoid striking an underground utility line.
 
Visit www.call811.com for more state information about 811 and the call-before-you-dig process.