Chester, VA – National Safe Digging Day is August 11, and Columbia Gas of Virginia is reminding people on 8/11 to contact 811 at least three business days before beginning any digging project. This allows underground utility lines to be marked, preventing potential damage to a line.
”Contacting 811 is free, it’s easy and it’s the law in Virginia,” said Columbia Gas of Virginia President and Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Montague. “The safety of people and their communities is at stake because striking a single line can cause injury, costly repairs, steep fines and inconvenient outages.”
When contacting 811 by visiting VA811.com or calling 811, homeowners and contractors are connected to the Virginia 811 system, which notifies the appropriate utility companies to mark the approximate location of underground utility lines with colored flags, spray paint or both. Each color of paint or flag indicates which type of utility is underground and where to avoid digging. The flags may be removed once the project is fully complete.
Every digging project, no matter how big or small, requires contacting 811 at least three business days before digging begins, including everything from installing a fence, putting in a new mailbox, planting a tree, or laying a patio.
“The depth of utility lines can vary for several reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surfaces,” added Montague. “Utility lines need to be properly marked because the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists even when digging only a few inches or digging in a previously marked location.”
Visit VA811.com or ColumbiaGasVA.com/811 for more information about 811 and safe digging practices.
