“Now is the winter of our discontent…” so said Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later to be King Richard III (but not for long) in Shakespeare’s play Richard III. Workplace safety really wasn’t his speciality.
If ever there was a man in need of underground utility locating services to hide his misdeeds, it was Richard III.
Did you know that many utilities are buried just a few inches below the ground? It doesn’t take much effort to cut a fiber optic telecommunications line when digging for a chore such as planting shrubs or flowers. Texas811 recommends a call to 811 ANYTIME you are putting a shovel in the ground. Safe digging through 811 is always the best damage prevention.
Only doing a small area of work? Use the “white line” technique! Special marking spray paint or white flags are available at your home improvement store. Pick some up and lay down white lines or insert the flags to outline the area of your yard you need to have buried utilities located within. Let the 811 agent who takes your call know about your plans, and they will pass that information along to utility locators.
It’s important to remember, some utility companies may not mark lines that run from the meter on to private property, such as a house or out building. It is the owner of the private lines or the excavator’s responsibility to get the utilities marked before digging. Most plumbers can provide this service for you, and there are also speciality underground utility locating services available.
Spring is here. It’s time for all sorts of home improvement projects, from planting to fences to new mailboxes – maybe even digging out a swimming pool!
Before you do ANY of them, make the call to 811 to ensure you are doing all you can for damage prevention to underground utilities.
Until next week, safe digging!
