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| Private Utility Locates: When 811 Isn’t Enough |
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| Notifying 811 before you dig is only half the job when it comes to locating underground utilities. Contractors and homeowners are also responsible for locating privately owned utility lines. |
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| When you contact 811, the one-call service transmits your locate request to its member utilities, who mark their lines up to the meter and no further. Any underground utility lines beyond the meter belong to the property owner (who is responsible for maintaining them). These privately owned lines will not be marked unless the excavator or property owner arranges for a private utility locate. |
| What Are Private Utility Lines? |
| Often properties have buried utility lines that run to detached garages, hot tubs, swimming pools, outbuildings, ground-based solar arrays or other facilities. Irrigation and septic lines are also considered private utilities. |
| Commercial properties, multi-unit housing complexes, shopping centers, university and industrial campuses, hospitals and government facilities all have many more buried utilities that power parking lot lighting, fuel boilers and generators, or deliver data along communication lines, for example. |
| When Do You Need a Private Utility Locate? |
| Damaging private underground utilities can be as costly and deadly to the excavator as contacting utility-owned lines. Don't risk it! |
| Begin by asking the property owner what private underground utilities are present. Understand that owners may not know what was installed before they owned the property or where these lines are located. Look for clues that may indicate the presence of underground facilities: lighted walkways or parking areas, an outdoor grill, a pool or a detached garage. |
| If you suspect there may be privately owned underground lines in your dig area, hire a private locating company to help you dig safely. Many 811 services offer a list of local locating companies. |
| As you do before notifying 811, pre-mark your dig area with white paint, flags and/or stakes. Once the utilities are marked, hand dig or use vacuum excavation to verify the location of the marked lines before you power dig in their vicinity. |
| If you do contact a private utility, don’t cover it up. Arrange with the owner for repairs. If natural gas is leaking, call 911 and PG&E immediately. |
| Would You Like to Know More? |
| Additional utility safety tips, case studies, instructional videos and educational tools can all be found, at no charge to you, on PG&E's
e-SMARTworkers website. |
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