ZANESVILLE, OH – The date August 11th serves as an important reminder to contact 811 before starting any digging projects.
Erica Chronaberry, the Communications Manager for Columbia Gas of Ohio, says it’s important to call 811 before you dig because there could be hidden utility lines hidden in the ground.
She says that not only could digging without knowing what’s below put you at risk, it could also cause some problems for your neighbors.
“If your lines aren’t marked and you would hit a live utility line, you could just imagine; it’s a safety risk.” Chronaberry said. “Beyond a safety concern, you could be causing an outage for your neighborhood, not just for yourself, and I don’t think anyone wants that on their shoulders. Another thing, if you hit a line that wasn’t marked, because you didn’t call 811, you could be on the hook for those costly repairs. ”
Chronaberry says the process of calling 811 is very simple and only takes a few minutes.
She says to contact them at least 2 days before starting your digging project so that a crew can come out and mark the lines.
She says the next step is to provide some information about your project and then wait for the utility company to come mark your lines.
Chronaberry also says if you had already called 811 for a prior project, it’s a good idea to call again to get your lines checked.
“Lines can move, they can change in depth underneath the ground through erosion, previous digging projects can sometimes alter the depth for lines and even, uneven surfaces.” Chronaberry said. “So the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists even if you’re only digging a few inches into the ground.”
For more information on safe digging you can head to ColumbiaGasOhio.com.