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National Safe Digging Month

It’s that time of year again. Our reminder to our customers that April is safe digging month. Did you know there are nearly 20 million miles of underground utility lines in the United States? These buried facilities include gas, water, sewer, cable TV, high-speed Internet, landline telephone and electric. All services that Americans depend on for their basic everyday needs.

With the temperatures warming up and ground de-thawing, there are many “honey-do” lists that are about to get done outdoors! TrioTel want’s to remind customers that before you start putting the shovel in the new garden space out back, that you dial 811 to make sure you aren’t damaging any underground utility lines. Unintentionally striking a line can result in inconvenient outages for entire neighborhoods, harm to yourself or your neighbors, and costly repairs. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811.

Here’s how it works:

1. One free, simple phone call to 811 makes it easy for the Call Center to notify all appropriate utility companies of your intent to dig.
2. Call 2 working days prior to digging to ensure enough time for utility lines to be marked accurately.
3. When you call 811, a representative from the Call Center will ask for the location and description of your digging project.
4. The Call Center will notify affected utility companies, which will then send professional locators to the proposed dig site to mark the approximate location of your lines.
5. Once lines have been accurately marked, roll up those sleeves and carefully dig around the marked areas.

Keep your project safe for you and your community. Call 811 Before You Dig.