A Safety Message for Homeowners

A Safety Message for Homeowners

As the snow melts, homeowners start to think about outdoor yard projects. We happily stare out the window envisioning the new deck, garden, gazebo, fence, play structure and firepits. Maybe the old tree needs to be replaced with a younger, greener model? Spring is a time for endless possibilities, and we start watching YouTube and DIY channels then head in droves to the local Home Depot or Canadian Tire to buy tools and materials to create our perfect home oasis.

Despite carefully preparing for the job at hand, there is a critical planning step that many homeowners miss — with potentially disastrous results. Click Before You Dig is not just a message for contractors and professional excavators using heavy equipment. Every time you put a shovel into your yard, you risk injury or damage to an underground facility you didn’t realize was there. Rebar and other support for plants and trees has punctured gas lines. Shovels have split fibre optic and telecommunication lines. Post hole augers have driven through live electrical lines. 

Each time a homeowner damages a line on their yard, we hear the same stories: “I thought those lines were buried deeper,” “I thought all the utilities were in the front,” “I thought it was safe to put the post in the same hole as the old one”, and often, “I thought Click Before You Dig was for contractors.” These common assumptions have resulted in serious injury and expensive repair costs — don’t let it happen to you.

Click Before You Dig is a free service for anyone disturbing the ground. No job is too big or too small.

This year, include a request for line locates in your home projects plan. The website is easy to use, and we have live chat agents available to answer any question you have while completing the request form. Once you have requested locates from Utility Safety Partners, you need to consider if there are lines in your yard that aren’t located by the free service. For example, you may have services provided by a company that is not registered with USP. You may have a power line running from your house to a workshop or a gas line to your garage. Those lines were privately buried, and the locators hired by the facility owners can only mark the main utility feed that runs to your meter. Any other lines are your responsibility as the property owner. You can hire private locators to find and mark those lines before you start work. CAPULC.ca is a good place to start looking for a private locator in your area.

When all the lines on your property are identified, plan to work safely and carefully around them. Respect the hand-dig zones and consider changing the dig site if necessary. For more information about the process and your responsibilities, please visit our website or our YouTube channel. And, Dig Safe.

Sher Kirk – Operations Director, Utility Safety Partners