811 Dig
Planning a household project that requires digging? Excavating has become increasingly risky as telephone cables, power lines, TV lines, gas, water, sewer, and petroleum pipes frequent more and more of residential properties. Buried utilities can be found along the property line and sometimes between lots to serve neighboring homes. Pennsylvania 811 dig is able to relay the location of these obstructions to the township and utility companies.
1. When planning a dig, mark the excavation sites with white paint, flags or chalk, and have the following information to convey:
a. Contact information – Name, phone number, email
b. County, municipality, ward number
c. Street number and street name
d. Nearest intersection to your property and a second intersection or nearest road
e. Location information, i.e. subdivision, latitude or longitude coordinates (if available)
f. Type of work being done, extent, and method of excavation
g. Proposed excavation date and time
2. Contact 811 – Call 3-10 business days before a dig, where a business day is not a weekend or legal holiday. Online requests here.
3. Wait – Make sure not to start before the lawful start date:
4. Track Process – After putting in the request, utility companies send out professional locators to the site to mark the approximate location of their buried utilities. They mark these areas with colored paint, flags, or chalk. If you provided an email for contact, an email detailing what each company marked is sent on the first day of legal excavation. Utility companies may not mark customer owned lines, such as service lines, lighting, pool connections, barbeque areas, or invisible fences. Those services can be handled by a Private Underground Location Service Company.
5. Dig with Caution – You are responsible for the marks once the locators have left the excavation site. If you are concerned the markings have been compromised, contact 811 to request they be marked again. Be careful not to tamper with the marks and dig carefully to stay within the areas clear to dig.