Northwest Iowa — It’s important to call before you dig. We hear it a lot. But people at Iowa One Call are hoping that Saturday’s date — 8/11 — will make you think about calling 811 before you dig. They tell us that six times every hour, damage occurs to underground infrastructure because someone dug without first calling 811.
Seth Hale is a spokesperson for Iowa One Call.
When calling 811, homeowners and contractors are connected to the local one call center, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of their intent to dig. Professional locators are then sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags, spray paint or both.
Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Hale says that every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811.
He says the depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects, and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
According to Hale, you can also create a ticket online by going to www.iowaonecall.com. He says if you need help, the customer service for that site can also be reached by simply calling 811. You can also visit that site for more information about 811 and safe digging practices.
