Planting a tree? Putting up a mailbox? Digging a goldfish pond?
You need to call Ohio811 before your shovel hits the ground.
Ohio laws regarding digging have evolved. Now any person − homeowner, tenant, contractor − planning to excavate must notify Ohio811 by phone, online or through its app at least two business days prior to digging.
Ohio811 will then notify utility companies in the area who will send out subcontractors to mark the underground utilities on your site so there’s less chance you’ll hit a gas, electric or some other kind of utility line.
Ohio811 is a nonprofit utility protection service, formerly known as the Ohio Utilities Protection Service, or OUPS. It’s a free public safety service and acts as a liaison between people planning to dig and the owners of underground utility lines.
Digging blindly raises the chances that you could slice through water mains or sewer lines, leading to immediate flooding, or even a gas line, which can lead to explosions like the one in Twinsburg Township last month.
The system is not foolproof, said Roger Lipscomb, CEO of Ohio 811. Sometimes old lines aren’t properly mapped or nearby aging infrastructure ruptures even though it was yards from a dig.
In Twinsburg Township, excavators followed the Ohio811 rules and the utilities marked their lines, Lipscomb said.
How workers putting in a telecommunication lines there hit a gas line remains under investigation.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hey Ohio homeowner: Drop that shovel if you haven’t notified Ohio811
Reporting by Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Amanda Garrett, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
