SCE's National Safe Digging Month reminder: Always call 811 before any digging project to safeguard yourself and underground lines — it’s the law.
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Stories : Safety
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SCE's National Safe Digging Month reminder: Always call 811 before any digging project to safeguard yourself and underground lines — it’s the law.
Lynnette Round
ENERGIZED by Edison Writer
Hidden danger could lurk as little as 2-3 inches beneath your feet. Underground utilities carrying electricity, water, gas and communication lines that connect homes and businesses can be dangerous if they are disturbed by digging.
By calling 811, you can prevent damage and service interruptions caused by digging into utility lines, which can be buried anywhere. Accidental dig-ins can lead to outages, property damage, injuries and even death — not to mention that you could be responsible for paying for the damages.
April is National Safe Digging Month
Whether you are a professional excavator, a new homeowner or a do-it-yourselfer, it is vital to call 811 before you dig — no matter the depth.
“Throughout California, the No. 1 reason for damage to underground utilities, the resulting outages and sometimes injuries is that people do not call 811 before digging,” said Ted Gribble, senior manager of Enterprise Risk Management & Public Safety at Southern California Edison. “Our data suggests as many as four of every 10 customers digging or excavating do not call 811, and this is when the majority of accidents happen. We want you to call 811 for everyone’s safety.”
Underground Utility Marking Flag Colors
White: excavation site
Pink: temporary survey markings
Red: electric power lines, cables, conduit and lighting cables
Yellow: natural gas, oil, steam, petroleum or other flammable materials
Orange: telecommunication, alarm or signal lines, cables or conduit
Green: sewer and drain lines
Blue: drinking water lines
Purple: reclaimed water and irrigation lines
SCE encourages homeowners and contractors to prioritize safety when embarking on any digging project. Whether it’s putting in swimming pools, irrigation, trees, shrubs, fences or mailboxes, make the call before your shovel hits the ground.
The best way to ensure a safe and damage-free project is to call 811 or create a ticket online at least two working days before digging. By contacting digalert.org or calling 811, you can benefit from the expertise of professionals who will identify and mark underground electrical lines for free.
Once marked, preserve the facility markings throughout the job — red for power, yellow for gas and blue for water. If the markings become difficult to see, submit another ticket to request re-marking. Your dig site must remain delineated in white so utility personnel know where to mark their infrastructure.
Underground Utility Facts
- The U.S. has about 20 million miles of underground utilities, enough to reach the moon and back 92 times.
- The most common cause of pipeline accidents is unauthorized digging.
- An underground utility line is broken every nine minutes from inappropriate digging.
- Residential power lines are usually buried only 18-24 inches below the surface, which makes maintenance and repair easier.
SCE offers additional safety tips to homeowners and others working on digging projects, big or small, to protect the invisible infrastructure, including:
- California law requires that you call two working days before your planned excavation, excluding the date of notification. For more information, check out digalert.org/calaw.
- If a contractor is digging, confirm that they have called 811. Work should not begin unless the utility lines are marked.
- Consider moving your project’s location if it is too close to utility line markings.
- Hand tools should be used when digging within 18-24 inches of the outside edge of underground utilities until the marked facilities are located/exposed, and utility flags, stakes or paint should be left in place until the project is finished.
- If you hit a utility line or encounter any other electrical hazard, such as a down wire, stay at least 100 feet away and call 911 immediately.
For more safety information, visit sce.com/safety.
Tags: National Safe Digging Month, electrical safety, safety
