Join Us in Celebrating Why Our Communities Dig National 811 Day

It’s peak summertime, which means it’s that time of the year when most of us are hard at work making renovations to our properties or starting new projects. Whether it’s installing a new mailbox, fixing an old fence, building a patio, or planting a tree, there’s one thing these projects all have in common – they all pose a risk to underground utilities such as natural gas and water lines, buried power, and telecommunications cables. Did you know it’s the law to always call 811 before beginning any underground digging project? And for good reason. In the United States alone, an underground utility line is damaged every six minutes because a homeowner or contractor started a digging project without calling 811.  

Hitting an underground utility line can cause inconvenient and lengthy service outages for whole neighborhoods, not to mention fines and repair costs, or worse, possible injury. That’s why National 811 Day – observed August 11 – was established as an annual initiative led by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to ensure the practice of safe digging by calling 8-1-1, a nationwide toll-free number, before any excavation project.  

The District is proud to highlight our partners at Sunshine 811 for connecting homeowners and contractors with help to get projects up and running without a hitch. When you call 8-1-1, Sunshine 811 notifies your local utility company (including the Lake Apopka Natural Gas District) of your upcoming project so professionals can be sent to mark the locations of underground utility lines with flags, paint, or both. Once underground lines have been located and marked, it’s essential not to disturb the markings or pick up the flags.

Here are five facts and tips to help you “get the dirt” on safe digging:

1. Florida residents should call 811 at least two (2) full business days before any digging project. For example, if you plan to begin work over the weekend, reach out by Tuesday or Wednesday to ensure you’re able to hit the ground running come Saturday.
2. Always treat locator flags and paint markers as approximate and leave a “tolerance zone” of 24 inches from the outer edges of a buried line.
3. Locator marks must always remain visible. Never place dump piles or building materials over marks; call 811 again if the marks fade.
4. Do not use mechanized equipment near the utility lines. The safest thing to do is manually dig to expose the utility line and avoid damaging it.
5. Here’s a quick breakdown of what the different-colored locator flags mean: red is for electricity; orange is for communication; yellow is for gas, oil, and steam; and blue is for water.

If digging projects are in your summer plans, STOP and take the necessary step to call 8-1-1. Not a fan of calling? Use the internet and click on “Single Address Ticket” at sunshine811.com. If you already have the District’s natural gas service, we can help you connect with our team’s professional locators after calling 811. Learn about switching to resilient and reliable natural gas with the District’s marketing team at (407) 656-2737 x307, marketing@langd.org, or visit www.langd.org for more information.