Before you dive into your next home or landscaping project that requires digging, keep this safety advice in mind. Your utility lines (and therefore you and your property) are at risk if you don’t have your underground utility lines located and marked. It doesn’t matter if you’re installing a deck in the spring or planting a tree in the fall, there’s no job too small or routine. It’s a free service and it’s the law. These tips are just a few ways you can count on us to help ensure your project is completed safely and on time.

5 Steps to Safe Digging

Step 1: Call MISS DIG 811 or go online. At least three business days prior to digging on your property, contact MISS DIG 811 by placing an online staking request at MISS DIG 811 – OneCallAccess or by calling 811 or 800-482-7171.

You’ll receive an email with your ticket number to use later when checking for Positive Response status from the owner/operator of the lines (the utility company).

Note: For homeowners who’ve hired a contractor or excavator to dig on their property, it’s the responsibility of the contractor/excavator to contact MISS DIG 811 for a locate request per Public Act 174.

Step 2: Wait for lines to be marked. Utility companies have three business days to mark where their facilities are located at the requested site. They use paint and/or flags to identify the approximate location of their lines. Underground facilities belonging to the property owner (such as power to yard lights, invisible dog fences, sprinkler systems and natural gas lines to barbecue grills) are considered private utilities and won’t be staked by utilities responding to a MISS DIG 811 request. Residents are responsible for marking these lines. Contractors who can provide personal staking services for a fee are available.

Step 3: Check status at status.missdig811.org. Wait three business days for a response from all utility companies so they have time to mark their lines with flags and/or paint.

After three business days, you can go online to Positive Response Ticket Search to verify ALL lines have been marked. Enter your ticket number and review the responses from the utility companies.

If a utility did not respond or complete the ticket and your start work date/time has arrived, you will need to contact MISS DIG by dialing 811 or re-submitting the ticket using your OneCallAccess Account.

Ask the operator for additional assistance from those utility companies who have not completed or responded to the ticket.

Review the MISS DIG 811 Positive Response Codes.

Step 4: Respect the marks. You may begin your project if all lines are marked, your submitted “start work” date and time have arrived, and Positive Response statuses are complete. Be sure you know what lines are in your workspace and where they’re located to ensure all lines are marked.

If you see a pedestal, meter, transformer, fire hydrant, etc., on-site, and no flags or paint coming from them, a line may have been missed. Call 811 for additional assistance.

Step 5: Dig with care. Most importantly, keep yourself, your family and your friends safe: make sure you’re digging in the “safe zone” (more than 4 ft out on either side of line markings). If you’re closer than 4 ft. to line markings, in the “caution zone,” hand dig to expose the lines to determine their exact location to ensure you don’t harm yourself or cut off service. Whenever you hand dig near buried utility lines, take care to prevent damage and potential injury:

  • Use a rounded or blunt-edged shovel. Sharp tools like pickaxes, mattocks, pry bars or pointed spades may gouge or puncture lines.
  • Begin digging off to the side of the marked utility line. Use a gentle, prying motion to break away soil as you approach the utility laterally.
  • Proceed cautiously. Don’t assume the marks are accurate or that the utility depth is predictable.
  • Never pry against a utility line to remove soil. Don’t stab at the soil or stomp on the shovel with both feet.
  • Dig until you find the actual line, not just a tracer wire (typically a small single-conductor wire) or warning tape.

If You See Something Say Something

If you see an excavation site or someone digging with no utility markings and believe utility lines exist in the area, call MISS DIG at 8-1-1 to place a Concerned Caller Ticket.