With the spring digging season almost here, the Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA) hopes this month will serve as a reminder for residents to always have underground utility lines marked prior to any digging project. Each year, damage to buried utilities costs Canadians more than $1 billion.When clicking before you dig, homeowners and contractors are connected to their local One-Call Centre, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of their intent to dig. Professional locators are then sent to the requested dig site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags, spray paint or both.
Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a visit to ClickBeforeYouDig.com. Installing a fence, planting a tree and building a deck are all examples of digging projects that need a visit to ClickBeforeYouDig.com before starting.
“During April and throughout the year, we remind homeowners and professional contractors alike to click before you dig to minimize the risk of striking an underground utility line,” said Mike Sullivan, Executive Director for the CCGA, “It really is the only way to know which utilities are buried in your area.”
The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, including erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because the risk of striking an underground utility line exists even when digging only a few inches.
