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| Landscaping and Fencing Safety |
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You’ve called 811, and all buried utility lines on your job site have been located and marked. Now your landscaping and fencing dig work can begin, right? Not so fast! |
Order our FREE worker safety training kit on the PG&E
e-SMARTworkers website. |
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| Locate marks are not precisely accurate and never indicate depth. Before you can power dig within 24 inches of either side of the indicated outside edge of a marked utility line in California, you must first verify the line's exact location and depth by hand digging or using other nonintrusive methods, such as vacuum technology. |
| Hand-Digging Tips |
| Whenever you hand dig near buried utility lines, take care to prevent damage and protect yourself from injury: |
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Use a rounded or blunt-edged shovel. Sharp tools like pickaxes, mattocks, pry bars, and pointed spades may gouge or puncture lines. |
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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. |
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Never stab at the soil or stomp on the shovel with both feet. |
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Proceed cautiously. Don’t assume the marks are accurate or that the utility depth is predictable. |
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Dig until you find the actual line, not just a tracer wire or warning tape. |
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| Be Aware of Above-Ground Hazards Too |
| Look for power lines, service drops, guy wires, and pad-mounted equipment on or near the job site. Assume all power lines are energized, and keep people, tools, materials, and vehicles at least 10 feet away from them. |
| Report ALL Damage |
| Even a slight gouge, scrape, or dent to a utility line, its coating, or its tracer wire may cause a break or leak or make the line unlocatable in the future. This can result in fire, explosions, and loss of life and property. Protect all exposed utility lines and check them regularly for damage. Before you backfill, check them again. Report any damage (even if it is minor) to PG&E so our crews can inspect the line and make the necessary repairs. If you have damaged a buried gas line or high voltage power line, contact the Underground Safety Board at california811.org within two hours. Remember, if natural gas is leaking, you must call 911 immediately. It's the law! |
| Would You Like to Know More? |
| Additional utility safety tips, case studies, instructional videos, and training tools can all be found, at no charge to you, on PG&E's e-SMARTworkers website. |
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