EAS Announcements

April Showers Bring Swells of Projects to The Greater Northeast:
Did You Remember to Call 811 Before Excavating?

April 2021

---

As the ground begins to soften with warmer weather and April showers, the construction world swells with projects and in the Deep Foundation world, this undoubtedly includes DIGGING!
​
April is National Safe Digging Month, it reminds us all, contractors and homeowners alike, to call 811 or complete an online ticket before you dig.

Did you know:

• Every 6 Minutes an underground utility is damaged because someone decided to excavate or dig without first calling 811 according to the Common Ground Alliance (CGA)
• A recent survey showed that roughly 4 in 10 homeowners plan to dig on their property this year.
• Of those homeowners, approx. 45% will not contact their local one-call utility notification center to learn the approximate location of the underground utility lines – ultimately putting the safety of themselves and their community on the line.
• 2/3 of homeowners believe they wouldn’t hit any underground utility lines and cause an outage at their home or those of their neighbors because “they weren’t digging that deep”, despite the data from CGA referenced above.

National Safe Digging Month began in 2008 to encourage all Common Ground Alliance members to promote safe digging when outdoor projects are starting to take off with the warmer weather.

The process not only saves lives but it saves communities and companies thousands of dollars in damages and repairs. Digging without knowing what utilities are underground can damage natural gas pipelines, electric lines, phone and internet, water and sewerage lines. Damaging these lines can result in weeks of delays for the project and disruptions to entire communities, not to mention the possibility of injuries to the crew or bystanders. Whether planning to build a new deck, plant trees and bushes or putting a new swimming pool in you need to call or click at least 72 hours before the start of the project.

This is offered as a free service to homeowners, contractors, excavators and anyone who’s projects require them to dig. Calling 811 or using the state’s online ticket system before digging is actually a federal law and failing to call could result in fines up to $10,000 and the cost of any repairs and damages.
So, remember dial 811 before you dig – you could be saving yourself from a major headache or worse!

Below are some useful links and contacts before you dig!

National Dig Safe
Common Ground Alliance
Dig Safe: MA, ME, NH, RI & VT – Dial 811 -or- 888-344-7233
Dig Safe: NY – Dial 811 -or- 800-272-4480 or 800=962-7962
Dig Safe: NJ – Dial 811 -or- 800-272-1000
Dig Safe: PA – Dial 811 -or- 800-242-1776
Dig Safe: DE – Dial 811 -or- 800-282-8555
Dig Safe Eastern Shore of MD – Dial 811 -or- 800-441-8355
Dig Safe: MD & DC – Dial 811 -or- MD: 800-257-7777  DC: 202-265-7177
Dig Safe: VA – Dial 811 -or- 800-552-3120
Dig Safe: WV – Dial 811 if you’re in WV -or- if calling from outside WV call 800-245-4848

---

Never Settle