Do not continue to excavate until the utility corrects the problem. If you accidentally hit a line during excavation, whether you think you have damaged the pipe or not, call 479-3118 immediately. If you are going to start a digging project you need to make sure that you know if ⦠My husband has weed-whacked ours a few times now. Questions. In fact, many underground utility construction firms use HDD equipment to complement open-cut excavation to install utilities. How to Request a Locate. Keep the public and traffic away. This allows you and the customer to figure out which utility it is. Once underground utility lines have been exposed, take steps to ensure that workers know where they are to protect the lines from damage. ⦠Excavation work should be properly managed to control risks, including: Planning the work. Michigan's statute, Act 174 of Public Act 2013, requires anyone who engages in, or is responsible for, the planning or performance of any type of excavation e.g. I been trying to report it but cant find number or where to report it. What should I do? This special day is a timely reminder about the importance of calling 811 before any digging or excavation activity. Be warned, that many places will hold you liable if you do dig and hit a utility without having called the service for guidance. 1. Hitting an underground utility line while digging can cause environmental damage, serious personal . Last but not least, see if you can have them call the utility. Underground utilities can pose an incredible amount of danger to workers. Be sure to provide the following information: before you do the splicing put on a yd of garden hose. Don't do anything that could cause a spark. Everything you see within this proposal are suggested guidelines that all participants could live with and a greed upon. If you do not have this work carried out you run the risk of hitting utility pipes or lines while you are digging. A Digup ticket is issued if you expose, cut or hit an underground utility while working. You should also contact Dig Safe for a re-mark. Remind your children not to remove the utility flag markings. ... so that in case you do hit something underground you're ready. Digging should be done at an angle and parallel to the direction of the underground utility line; following this practice ensures that the shovel will harmlessly slide off of any pipe that you may hit. Then, contact the utility owner directly. Digging safety for contractors. Provide designers with the operator's name, the type of underground utility line, and the approximate horizontal location of the utility line. There are two ways to request a line spot: Call 811. Call 811 at least three working days before you plan to dig. Enforcement Process. THE NEW POWERHOUSE IN EXCAVATION. ⢠Evacuate workers and others to a safe distance. Answer: Yes, it is possible. Call 911. If you do plant anything in this area that is of value, or deeper roots, make sure that it is over the wires, and not the pipes as wires will probable be replaced if there is a failure, where as pipes will have to be dug up. MISS DIG 811 is Michigan's statewide one-call notification system that was developed in order to provide excavators and the general public the ability to inform multiple owners of underground facilities of excavation with a single call. Digging should be done at an angle and parallel to the direction of the underground utility line; following this practice ensures that the shovel will harmlessly slide off of any pipe that you may hit. Treat Every Line Like Itâs Live Work on, ⦠We will provide you with a reference number that serves as proof of your call. Millions of miles of underground utility lines run beneath residential lawns in the U.S. Accidentally cutting into one of these lines can disrupt vital services or even cause a fatal accident. Info-Excavation, as well as buried utility owners or operators who are non members, must also be advised in the event of an inaccurate locate. Watch Out for Utility Tree Easements. Immediately reporting the damage or exposure of any underground utility to the one-call center. What is MISS DIG 811? Explanation: precisely because the fence electric wire is buried to 3 "and pins of the aerator machine can damage the wire,only in cases where the electric fence is buried to more than 3" of depth, the cable not be damaged. Free of charge, the notification center alerts utilities such as electric, gas, cable and phone companies so they can mark the location of the underground lines. I was told that I must manually dig the hole within 18 inches of any marked utility lines. This post was edited by knuttle on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 9:13. jcalhoun. Letâs face it â accidents happen! If you are setting up a new business, this Guideline can serve as your step-by-step guide to establishing a program to manage the hazards arising from work near underground assets. How 811 Works. Luckily, contacting your public utility is easier than ever. What they have finally done is to put a metal pipe around it, so it can no longer be hit with the weed-whacker. I was working on my yard/ gardeb today. https://mclaughlinunderground.com/5-things-need-hit-utility-line I do not think the locate marks for underground utilities at my dig site are correct. In my past experience electric is NORMALLY a good foot+ deep. 1. The colorful flags used to mark underground utility lines can be very attractive to young children. I was doing some digging no more few inches deep and I manage to cut a black line which then cut offf my internet. 3. If you, as an excavator, damage an underground utility, you MUST report this to the facility owner as well as the Notification Center and 911 if applicable as stated in the law. A : The paint you see in the street near your dig site is called an âoffset marking.âWhen a locator marks a non-permanent surface, such as grass or dirt, he or she can also put an offset marking on the nearest permanent surface (such as a sidewalk, street or driveway) to indicate the distance (in feet) and direction of the underground utility from your dig site. Immediately evacuate the area and stay up wind. splice with scotchlock, soldering and chrimping or twisting and tapeing. What to do if someone is ⦠Knowing and following the tolerance zones for digging around the locatorsâ markers. 12 8. Fast Fact: Every 6 minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811. Even striking a single line while you dig can cause serious injury, fines, high repair costs, and outages. Visit www.texas811.org for additional information. No matter where you live, whether it's in an urban area, a residential area or an agricultural area, you can appreciate the value of a tree. This could require placing a heavy timber or pipe across the top of the trench, and then tying a rope from the timber or pipe to the utility line to support its weight. Please feel free to share any questions or concerns about the work we will be doing with the technician while they are visiting your home. I have seen cable and phone only a 1-2 inches below ground. Answer: Yes, it is possible. Explanation: precisely because the fence electric wire is buried to 3 "and pins of the aerator machine can damage the wire,only in cases where the electric fence is buried to more than 3" of depth, the cable not be damaged. Depending of the risk of moist, and if you have to do it by youselves. [2] says you must take precautions to avoid danger. Participating electrical commercial partners. If you come into contact with an electrical cable you need to stand clear of the area until it is repaired. For a more direct view of whatâs underground, to cover all the bases and to include things that may not be on record, hire a company to do a mapping with ground penetrating radar. If the drill contacts underground electrical wires, the operator may be electrocuted. If an underground utility is damaged, the utility operator is in the best position to determine the hazards associated with the damage and implement appropriate countermeasures. If you need to trench around the lines, use trench shields to protect the walls of the trenched areas. Contact numbers are on your ticket or in Internet Ticket Entry or you may call (800) 638-4097. When you cut a cable, ALWAYS inform the customer right away! It cost the deck company over a thousand dollars to retrench, install a new line and repair the landscaping. Underground utility lines. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is responsible for violations of the Illinois Underground Utility Facilities Damage Prevention Act. If you discover a previously unidentified buried utility... STOP WORK IMMEDIATELY and advise Info-Excavation of the situation. Installing underground utility lines safely using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) equipment prevents the drill from hitting and breaking existing underground utility lines (i.e., electrical, water, sewage, gas, steam, chemical). If you have any questions or concerns about any of the training procedures used by The Underground Detective, please contact us at your convenience. For contractors who do a lot of digging, the cost of one of these devices is far less than the price of repairing the damage from an underground hit. If you break a natural gas Do not use e ⦠So, even if youâre digging only a few inches underground, we highly recommend you have your utilities marked to avoid the risk of striking an underground utility. Excavators and drilling contractors should come up with a detailed work plan: Train employees on the proper procedures for determining the locations of underground utilities. Respond to the designer's request for underground utility line information within fifteen working days in accordance with subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 of this section; 2. If you prefer to submit a utility location request online, visit the Dig Safe WA. While you are not required to have proof of notification compliance at your job site, we recommend you do so in case you hit a line or discover unmarked lines. You need to put in a short pice of new wire, use what ever you have. In the simplistic world of Lyonetics, if you have hit a utility four times, you must not hit another. Then, to let us know why you're calling, say âLine is down.â Heads up: Extreme weather or other factors can bring down lines, including electrical lines. Each buried utility also has a 24-inch tolerance zone around its outer edge. 2. In the unfortunate case you do accidentally hit any underground assets, follow below-mentioned advice: Get Everyone to Safety. The service can help you identify where underground utility lines run in your yard and help you avoid big problems. What happens if you damage an underground cable? If your child happens to pull out the utility flags, do not attempt to place the flags back in the ground. This needs repair. Once at a safe distance, please call 911, then Texas811. If you have an emergency request, call (866) 344-6662. ⢠Do not try to disentangle cables from excavator buckets. We would be happy to explain them to you. Utilities Are Marked (If Applicable) - Once the utility companies' locators have marked where their lines are, we'll be notified that it's safe for us to begin. Underground Crew Assigned and Work is Scheduled - Once the utilities lines are marked, our underground crew will come out and install the new cable line. 5 5.2 Use cable locating devices to help find cables 7 5.3 Safe digging and drilling practices 8 6. Call 811 Before You Dig. OSHA recommends that the excavator notify the utility ⦠7 years ago. OKIE811 will tell you which of our member companies have lines in your dig area and they will be notified about your excavation near their underground lines. Support exposed utility lines, if necessary, so they do not collapse under their own weight. To an ordinary telephone only one twisted pair is required, the rest are spares. Fortunately, there are effective ways to pinpoint the location of underground utility lines before you dig. At least two business days before you plan on digging: Call 811, or Go to www.callbeforeyoudig.org. How it works. Facility owners/operators, such as utility companies or your town, city or county service providers, will send professional locators to the area you identified as your dig site. If a utility line is accidentally damaged (nicked, scraped or broken), dislocated or disturbed, call the appropriate utility company immediately (DO NOT call Miss Utility) for inspection and repair. But in addition to shade, they also help reduce soil erosion and prevent flooding. Diversion of underground cables 11 7. If there is an escape of natural gas or flammable liquids you MUST do the following: Eliminate all ignition sources by immediately turning off the equipment, cellphones, lighters, cars and trucks. Not only are they effective for identifying underground power lines, but many can also be used for locating other utilities. Utility Rights of Way. Hitting an underground natural gas line can have serious consequences like losing natural gas service to your home and neighbourhood (goodbye heat and hot water), paying for repairs and causing serious injury to yourself, family or others. The technician will then submit a request order for an underground crew to replace the underground cable line. Go to a safe location and call CenterPoint Energyâs natural gas leak hotline at 713.659.2111 or 800.752.8036 and call 9.1.1. Stop all excavation and turn off equipment to minimize the risk of sparks and fire. 811 is the national call-before-you-dig phone number. Since 2007, there has been a universal N11 phone number for getting in touch with one of the 71 regional services that coordinate underground public utility locationsâbut instead of finding the contact information for each utility, you can now simply dial 8-1-1. Sept. 10, 2013 â ... (We suggest you stand out there and show the locator where you hit the line last time.) Be sure to call three days prior to digging so that all underground utilities can be located. Get ⦠New Mexico One Call operators take routine line location requests from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. If you have questions or would like to schedule a safety presentation, please contact a JULIE Damage Prevention Manager during normal business hours.
