Locate Underground Lines – Call 811
Call Before You Dig – It’s the Law
You are required by law to make contact with underground facility owners before you dig or excavate. If you are planning on excavating please call the number below 2 business days before you dig or excavate.
Call (800) 424-5555 or 811
Why Should You Call Before You Dig?
- It could save a life: Many things lie buried beneath the ground. Power lines and gas lines are 2 of the most deadly.
- It could save your property: Fire or explosion from a damaged gas line, erosion from a broken water line, disease from a broken sewer line, or simply the inconvenience of losing your phone or cable TV service due to a cut line.
- It could save you money: It doesn’t cost anything to call in a locate request. With 1 quick telephone call, all utilities in your area will be notified to come and mark the location of their lines.
- However, if you damage a utility line and did not call for a locate, you may be liable for up to 3 times the actual amount of the damage.
- Some high-capacity telephone lines carry up to 1 million dollars per minute in calls!
- It’s the law: RCW 19.122, anyone digging deeper than 12 inches must call for locates 2 business days before they dig. This holds true for private property, city, county, state or federal lands, and railroad right-of-way. In addition to damages and civil penalties, anyone who ignores this law may also be subject to penalties from the Department of Labor and Industries.