April 15, 2020 10:35 a.m.
In honor of National Safe Digging Month, the Oregon Public Utility Commission and the Utility Notification Center are reminding Oregonians to call 811 at least two business days before digging to have underground utility lines marked.
A PUC release said this year more people may be doing home projects in the yard due to the COVID-19 situation, so the reminder to call before digging is being put out.
The OUNC, which operates the free 811 call-center, notifies the utility companies that serve the area of the planned project. Utility personnel then visit the project site to mark the approximate location of the underground lines, pipes and cables in the planned digging area.
The release said statistics show that a majority of the line strikes occur during the warmer months when more yard work is being done. In 2017 an estimated 439,000-line strikes occurred nationwide, with 25 percent of those due to insufficient notice being given to the 811 service.
Call 811 or visit: https://digsafelyoregon.com/ to submit a locate request or to learn more about safe digging practices.