April is National Safe Digging Month and South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioners are reminding people that calling before you dig is an essential step in preparing for outdoor projects.
State law requires that 811– South Dakota’s One Call service– be called at least two working days prior to the beginning of any excavation project. The 48-hour notice gives utility companies time to mark the underground location of their infrastructure. The digger is then responsible for avoiding those marked areas.
PUC Chairman Chris Nelson says contacting 811 should be done before you ever break ground. Whether building a house, adding a fence, updating landscaping or relocating something on your property, he says notifying South Dakota 811 helps maintain the integrity of buried utilities as well as ensuring your safety.
PUC Vice Chairperson Kristie Fiegen says to think of 811 a kind of free insurance that can help prevent serious injury, minimize risk of property damage and reduce risk of outages and damage to utilities. She says digging in an area that has been marked or striking even a single underground line can result in all types of trouble including service disruptions, fines, significant repair costs, injury or even death.
PUC Commissioner Gary Hanson says the depths of utility lines can change over time and older utility lines are often closer to the surface than we realize. He says new property owners, especially in older neighborhoods, may decide to plant some things in an existing garden or an area where one would not expect a utility line to exist.
South Dakota 811 is free service. In addition to being able to call 811, people can use an online portal to request an underground utility locate by going to the South Dakota Once Call website, sdonecall.com.
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