Call Before You Dig

Let the planting begin…almost.

A couple of weeks ago, Georgia’s Official Weather Prognosticator saw his shadow. With that, General Beau declared that spring is just around the corner.

Before you go into your yard though, shovel in hand, it is important to find out what is already under the ground.  Imagine taking that first shovel full of dirt, ready to plant your new rose bush, only to get a jolt of electricity from an underground cable. Or worse yet, too have to explain to your teenage daughter why she can’t watch Hannah Montana, because you took out the cable.

Not only could this make life difficult, but more than likely the utility company is then going to charge you for the repairs.

Georgia and most other states provide programs that homeowners can call to get their utility lines marked prior to doing any kind of digging, and it’s free!  In Georgia, homeowners can call 811 or go to http://www.gaupc.com/.   This service will ask what type of digging you are planning on doing and then will contact all the applicable utility companies for you to come out and mark your property.  Different colors and flags are used to identify what utility is being marked.

The utility companies have usually two business days to mark your property, and then you are safe to dig.

I take pictures of the markings in order to reference later on other projects.