Call Before You Dig
Call 811
Neglect one simple step and you could dig yourself into deep
trouble. So "call before you dig." It's the law.
That's the message promoted by the Oregon Utility Notification
Center (OUNC), a new state agency that provides a one-call
service to contractors, excavators and homeowners to let
them know what they may encounter underground.
 The center's aim is to prevent damage, service disruptions
and potential disaster from uncharted digging into buried
service facilities.
Callers to the center must identify project locations 48
business hours before starting work, giving exact street
or other coordinate information The center then notifies
all affected utilities which subscribe to the center of the
pending excavation. Each utility sends employees to locate
underground lines near the project with color-coded paint
that identifies what kind of utility is underground.
Failure to call and receive necessary guidance can prove
messy at the very least, disrupt essential services and may
be downright hazardous. Everyone, including homeowners, must
call OUNC when planning to dig. Neighborhoods, especially
new ones, have extensive utility lines criss-crossing under
their yards.
Do-it-yourselfers
Do-it-yourselfers planting trees or setting fence posts
have been known to damage electric, telephone, gas and other
utility lines. There have been cases of electrocution and
severe injuries caused by damage to electric lines. Also
loss of service and property due to water or gas line ruptures,
or possibly worse.
Recognizing the complexity of the underground network and
its safety implications, the 1995 Oregon Legislature created
a new state agency to establish a single, statewide, non-profit
center, and reiterated the legal requirement to call before
you dig.
The new law includes fines and penalties for failure to
call before digging. Violators can also be liable for repair
costs for damage resulting from non-compliance with the law's
requirements.
The Oregon Utility Notification Center, located in Portland,
will take locate requests 24 hours/day, seven days a week.
The phone number to call before you dig is 811.
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