Call Before You Dig: In Many States, It's The Law
|
Don't let this happen |
Power, water, gas and many other lines crisscross most urban areas. Even rural areas feature heavy concentrations of underground lines. To avoid hitting a line, call before you dig.
Most states have laws of some sort requiring excavators to call before digging, some lines are only inches deep. A typical scenario will go as follows:
- Phone the Call Before You Dig office in your state.
- They will notify involved companies and utilities who will mark lines at the site.
- You dig safely. The process only takes about two or three business days, and there is no fee.
Here's a list of phone numbers for every state.
| Understanding Colors |
|---|
| RED: Electric power lines, cables, conduit and lighting cables. |
| YELLOW: Gas, oil, steam, petroleum, gaseous materials. |
| ORANGE: Communication, alarm, signal lines or cable tv. |
| BLUE: Water, irrigation, slurry lines. |
| GREEN: Sewer. |
| PINK: Survey markings. |
| WHITE: Proposed excavation (your lines). |
| PURPLE: Reclaimed water. |
- These colors are standard, but not universal. Some states use variations of this color scheme. Please call your state to verify colors.
- Failure to call could result in severe injury, legal problems, damage to the environment, project delays or interruption of local services.
The following list is courtesy of Underground Focus Magazine . As phone numbers may change, please bring any needed updates to their attention via email: ufmagazine@underspace.com.
| ALABAMA Alabama One Call 1-800-292-8525 |
| ALASKA Locate Call Center of Alaska, Inc. 1-907-278-3121 |
| ARIZONA Arizona Blue Stake, Inc. 1-800-782-5348 |
| ARKANSAS Arkansas One Call System, Inc. 1-800-482-8998 |
| CALIFORNIA Underground Service Alert North, 1-800-227-2600 Underground Service Alert South, 1-800-227-2600 |
| COLORADO Utility Notification Center of Colorado, 1-800-922-1987 |
| CONNECTICUT Call Before You Dig 1-800-922-4455 |
| DELAWARE Miss Utility of Delmarva 1-800-282-8555 |
| FLORIDA Sunshine State One Call of Florida, Inc.1-800-432-4770 |
| GEORGIA Utilities Protection Center, Inc. 1-800-282-7411 |
| HAWAII Hawaii One-Call 1-800-282-7411 |
| IDAHO Dig Line 1-800-342-1585 Palouse Empire Undrgrnd Crd. Cncl. 1-800-822-1974 Kootenai County Utility Coord. Cncl. 1-800-428-4950 Utilities Underground Location Center 1-800-424-5555 One Call Concepts - Idaho 1-800-626-4950 Shoshone county One Call 1-800-398-3285 |
| ILLINOIS Julie, Inc. 1-800-892-0123 Chicago: Digger 1-312-744-7000 |
| INDIANA Indiana Underground Plant Prototection Service. Inc. 1-800-382-5544 |
| IOWA Underground Plant Loc. Service, Inc. 1-800-292-8989 |
| KANSAS Kansas One Call Center 1-800-DIG-SAFE |
| KENTUCKY Kentucky Underground Protec., Inc. 1-800-752-6007 |
| LOUISIANA Dottie System, Inc. 1-800-272-3020 |
| MAINE Dig Safe - Maine 1-888-344-7233 |
| MARYLAND Miss Utility of Delmarva 1-800-282-8555 Miss Utility 1-800-257-7777 |
| MASSACHUSETTS Dig Safe - Massachusetts, 1-888-344-7233 |
| MICHIGAN Miss Dig Utility Comm. System 1-800-482-7171 |
| MINNESOTA Gopher State One Call 1-800-252-1166 |
| MISSISSIPPI Mississippi One Call System, Inc. 1-800-227-6477 |
| MISSOURI Missouri One Call System, Inc. 1-800-344-7483 |
| MONTANA Utilities Underground Loc. Center 1-800-424-5555 Montana One Call 1-800-551-8344 |
| NEBRASKA Diggers Hotline of Nebraska 1-800-331-5666 |
| NEVADA Underground Service Alert of NV 1-800-227-2600 |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE Dig Safe - New Hampshire , 1-888-344-7233 |
| NEW JERSEY Garden State Undrgrnd. Plnt. Loc. Ser. 1-800-272-1000 |
| NEW MEXICO New Mexico One Call system, Inc. 1-800-321-ALERT |
| NEW YORK Underground Fac. Protection Org. 1-800-962-7962 New York City - Long Island One Call Center 1-800-272-4480 |
| NORTH CAROLINA North Carolina One-Call Center 1-800-632-4949 |
| NORTH DAKOTA Utilities Underground Location Center 1-800-454-5555 |
| OHIO Ohio Utilities Protection Service 1-800-362-2764 |
| OKLAHOMA Call Okie 1-800-522-6543 |
| OREGON Utility's Underground Location Center 1-800-424-5555 Douglas Utility's Coordinating Council 1-503-673-6676 Josephine Utility's Coord Council 1-503-476-6676 Utility's Notification Center 1-800-332-2344 Rogue Basin Utility Coord Council 1-503-779-6676 |
| PENNSYLVANIA Pennsylvania One Call System, Inc. 1-800-242-1776 |
| RHODE ISLAND Dig Safe - Rhode Island, 1-888-344-7233 |
| SOUTH CAROLINA Palmetto Utility Protection Srvce Inc. 1-800-922-0983 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA South Dakota One Call 1-800-781-7474 |
| TENNESSEE Tennessee One Call System 1-800-351-1111 |
| TEXAS Lone Star Notification Center 1-800-669-8344 Texas Excavation Safety System 1-800-344-8377 Texas One Call system 1-800-245-4545 |
| UTAH Blue Stakes Location Center 1-800-662-4111 |
| VERMONT Dig Safe - Vermont, 1-888-344-7233 |
| VIRGINIA Miss Utility of Virginia 1-800-552-7001 Miss Utility 1-800-257-7777 Miss Utility of Delmarva 1-800-441-8355 |
| WASHINGTON Utilities Notification Center 1-800-332-2344 Grays Harbor & Pacific County Utility Coordinating Council 1-206-532-3550 Utilities Underground Location Center 1-800-424-5555 Chelan-Douglas Utility Coord Council 1-509-663-6111 Upper Yakima County Underground Utilities Council 1-800-553-4344 Inland Empire Utility Coord. Council 1-509-456-8000 Utilities Council of Cowlitz County 1-360-425-2506 Palouse Empire Utility Cord. Council 1-800-822-1974 |
| WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Miss Utility 1-800-257-7777 |
| WEST VIRGINIA Miss Utility of West Virginia, Inc. 1-800-245-4848 |
| WISCONSIN Diggers Hotline, Inc. 1-800-242-8511 |
| WYOMING Wyoming One-Call 1-800-348-1030 Call Before You Dig Of Wyoming 1-800-849-2476 |
| CANADA Alberta: Alberta One-Call Location Corp. 1-800-242-3447 British Columbia: BC One Call 1-800-474-6886 Ontario: Ontario One Call Centre Ltd 1-800-400-2255 or 905-709-1717 Ontario: Waterloo Region Bud System 1-800-265-2288 Ontario: Call "Bud" 1-905-527-7977 Quebec:Info-Excavation 1-800-663-9228 |
