Now that spring is here, you may be planning your landscaping and gardening projects. April is National Safe Digging Month, and EEI and our member companies would like to remind you to always call 8-1-1 at least three days hours before you dig.

You must call 8-1-1 before digging, even for small projects such as installing a mailbox, fence and deck posts and planting trees and shrubs. Other projects that could affect utility lines and require calling 8-1-1 first include installing a septic tank, a swimming pool, and a sprinkler system.

Calling 8-1-1 protects you and your community.

This year, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), an association that works to prevent damage to underground utility infrastructure, estimates that more than 49 million homeowners will risk unintentionally damaging buried utilities by not calling 8-1-1 before a digging project. Hitting a buried line can be a serious safety hazard and be expensive to fix.

By making a simple call, you can help prevent injuries, property damage, and inconvenient utility outages. Remember to always call 8-1-1 before you dig this month and all year long.

What happens when you call 8-1-1?

When you call 8-1-1, the call center will alert your local utility operators, and they will come mark the approximate locations of underground utility lines in your project area with paint or flags.

When you make the request, you will receive a ticket number and instructions for how much time local energy companies have to respond to you request, and how to confirm that all the companies have responded before you can safely dig.

Be sure to plan ahead – it generally takes two to three days for utility operators to respond.

Once you begin your project, remember to stay at least two feet away from the utility line markings while digging.

CGA established National Safe Digging Month in 2007 to raise public awareness about underground safety. Visit call811.com, a website created by CGA, to learn more about safe digging practices and to access detailed information about 8-1-1 call centers by state.