If you’re planning any digging projects around your home, be sure to pick up the phone before the shovel. Knowing where utility lines are buried can protect you from physical harm and your entire neighborhood from a disruption in their utilities.
Alabama’s One Call utility locator service can identify if there are active utility lines hiding beneath the surface where you plan to dig. Allow 48 hours for the lines to be located. Call 811, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Visit www.al811.com for more information. Underground lines are marked with colors according to the utility. Red means electric, blue means water, green means sewer, and yellow means gas or oil.
Call Before You Dig
At least two days before you dig in your yard or anywhere else, call 811 (or 1-800-292-8525, if you’re calling from outside the state of Alabama).
The problem these days is that you don’t really know what you’re going to dig into. It could be a buried, 220-volt electrical utility line. Or even a water, telephone or gas line. In any case, it would be unpleasant and downright dangerous and it could cost you serious money. If you damage a utility line, Alabama state law allows the utility to bill you for that damage.
So call 811 at least two days before you dig.