Link This |
Email this |
Blog This |
Comments (0)
Remember to "Call Before You Dig"
May 13, 2008
You may not know it, but you should: Here in Georgia we’re in the very midst of “Dig Safely” month, declared as such by no less than Governor Sonny Perdue himself.
According to the Georgia Utilities Protection Center, this latest action deomnstrates the good governor's "continued support for safe digging practices” – and if you’re a member of the excavating community my guess is that you’re glad to see it.
“For Georgia, and the nation, this is a timely recognition of safe digging and damage prevention for buried utilities,” the Georgia UPC adds, as May is also the one-year anniversary of the launch of a three-digit call before you dig number serving the nation as a whole. That number – 811 – was rolled out on May 1, 2007 as the National Call Before You Dig number.
It’s a neat number. You can dial it from anywhere in the nation and be automatically connected to the local one call center to have buried utilities located.
In Georgia, as elsewhere, the law requires that contractors call before they dig. But the free service is available to anyone, even folks like you and me and the guy down the street, who might simply be digging with hand tools. This is great news for those of us with a bunch of azaleas yet to plant, as it will help assure us that the only explosive color we see in our front yard will come from the flowers and not from what may be lurking underground.
Why worry about this? Well, across the country, one utility line is unintentionally struck every minute.
“Calling the UPC to have underground facilities located not only saves time and money,” notes Claudette Campbell of the Georgia Utility Protection Center, “but most importantly it saves lives. It is never too late to do the right thing. If you haven’t called in the past, start today. 811 is easy to remember and the call and the service are done at no charge to the caller. It also keeps the caller/excavator in compliance with the Georgia ‘Dig Law’.”
That’s good advice, and it’s something to remember as the busy summer construction season begins.
Posted by Steve Hudson on May 13, 2008 | Comments (0)
