SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) hopes this
date on the calendar, 8/11, serves as a natural reminder for residents to call
811 prior to any digging project to have underground utility lines marked.
Every six minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone
decided to dig without first calling 811.
When calling
811, homeowners and contractors are connected to the Oregon Utility
Notification Center (OUNC), the local one call center, which notifies the
appropriate utility companies of their intent to dig. Professional locators are then sent to the
requested digging site to mark the appropriate locations of underground lines
with flags, spray paint or both.
Striking a line
can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Every digging project, no matter how large or
small, requires a call to 811.
Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree and laying a
patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before
starting.
“Today and
throughout the year, we remind homeowners and professional contractors alike that
they must call 811 at lease two business days before digging to eliminate the
risk of striking an underground utility line,” said Lori Koho, Utility Safety
and Reliability Administrator. “811
helps maintain the safety of Oregon residents and the reliability of utility
services that we all appreciate.”
The depth of
utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous
digging projects, and uneven surfaces.
Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only
a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
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The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) regulates
customer rates and services of the state’s investor-owned electric, natural gas
and telephone utilities, as well as select water companies. The PUC mission is to ensure Oregon utility
customers have access to safe, reliable, and high quality utility services at
just and reasonable rates, which is accomplished thorough analysis and
independent decision-making conducted in an open and fair process.