Delmarva Power marks April as National Safe Digging Month

April is National Safe Digging Month, and Delmarva Power is joining Miss Utility of Delmarva – the one-call notification center for Delaware and Maryland – to remind residents, businesses and contractors that safe digging must remain a priority to prevent damage to critical underground energy services and keep communities safe.

Anyone planning to take on a spring DIY project that involves digging must call 811 at least two business days before beginning work to learn the approximate location of underground utility equipment. Beyond fines and costs for repairing damage to underground utility lines, taking the right steps before digging will help avoid accidental damage to underground lines that could disrupt services to neighbors. More importantly, it can prevent potential injury caused by striking an underground electric, natural gas or other utility line.

Despite damage prevention laws that have been in place for decades, recent statistics indicate that one out of every three incidents is caused by someone who did not contact 811 before digging. A recent survey also states 45 percent of homeowners who are planning digging projects do not plan to call 811 beforehand, putting themselves and their communities at risk.

In 2020 alone, Delmarva Power was called to more than 350 incidents where damage was caused to underground electric or gas lines by unsafe digging practices. Digging without knowing the approximate location of underground equipment can result in costly repairs when gas, electric, communications, water and sewer lines are damaged. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Landscaping, planting trees and shrubs, installing a fence or mailbox, and building a deck, pond or patio, are all examples of digging projects where a call to 811 must be one of the first steps.

Delmarva Power has more than 6,000 miles of underground electric lines in Delaware and Maryland, and nearly 3,600 miles of natural gas pipeline buried throughout northern Delaware.

Aside from Delmarva Power’s lines, there are underground communications cables, water and sewer lines, and other utilities. Properly locating underground lines is essential to safely completing any digging job.

Residents and businesses should take the following steps if planning a digging project this spring:

• Always call 811 at least two days before digging, regardless of the depth or familiarity with the property
• Plan ahead. Call on Monday or Tuesday for work planned for an upcoming weekend, providing ample time for the approximate location of lines to be marked
• Confirm that all lines have been marked
• Consider moving the location of the project if it is near utility line markings
• If a contractor has been hired, confirm that the contractor has called 811. Don’t allow work to begin if the lines aren’t marked
• For more information, go to call811.com.

When calling 811 at least two business days prior to digging, customers and contractors are connected to Miss Utility of Delmarva to provide information about their project to local utility companies. Professional locators will then visit the dig site to mark the approximate location of underground utility lines with spray paint, flags or both. Once a site has been accurately marked, it is safe to begin digging around the marked areas.

National Safe Digging Month brings extra attention to the issue of underground utility line safety and reduces the risk of unnecessary infrastructure damage.