On August 11 (8/11), also known as National 811 Day, Columbia Gas reminds homeowners and contractors to make a free request to identify buried utility lines before digging.
Chester, VA – National Safe Digging Day (8/11) serves as a reminder for homeowners and contractors to call 811 or visit VA811.com at least three business days before digging to have underground utilities marked.
In celebration of National Safe Digging Day, Columbia Gas of Virginia is adopting a fun, safety mascot, Digger Dog®, to serve as a reminder on Aug. 11 and year-round for customers to contact 811 before any digging project to have underground utility lines marked.
“We are excited to introduce Digger Dog, who is a fantastic safety ambassador,” said Columbia Gas President and COO Jennifer Montague. “On August 11 and throughout the year, we want to spread the word that contacting 811 before digging allows us to mark our gas lines and prevent a potentially dangerous situation. Digger Dog allows us to spread safety messaging in an educational, fun way.”
Digger Dog knows that it’s free to contact 811, and it’s the law. Striking a single line can cause costly repairs, inconvenient outages, steep fines and even injuries.
When contacting 811, homeowners and contractors are connected to Virginia 811, which notifies the appropriate utility companies to mark the approximate location of underground utility lines with either flags or special spray paint.
Every digging project, no matter how big or small, requires contacting 811 at least three business days in advance to allow underground utilities time to mark their utility lines before digging begins. Some examples of projects to contact 811 include everything from installing a fence, deck or mailbox to planting a tree, bushes or a new garden.
Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches or digging in a previously marked location, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists. The depth of utility lines can also vary for several reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surfaces.
Visit VA811.com or ColumbiaGasVA.com/811 for more information about 811 and safe digging practices.
About Columbia Gas of Virginia
Columbia Gas of Virginia delivers clean, dependable, and efficient natural gas to approximately 290,000 customers in more than 100 communities across the Commonwealth. With headquarters in Chesterfield County, it is one of six regulated utility companies of NiSource (NYSE: NI), one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States. NiSource employees are focused on our mission to deliver safe, reliable energy that drives value to our customers, and guided by our vision to be an innovative and trusted energy partner. More information about Columbia Gas of Virginia and NiSource is available at www.columbiagasva.com/ and www.nisource.com/.
