South Jersey Gas encourages people to make a free call three days before digging to know what's below
FOLSOM, NJ - With August 11 here, South Jersey Gas hopes this date on the calendar, 8/11, will serve as a natural reminder for residents to call 811 prior to any digging project to have underground utility lines marked. Every eight minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811.
When calling 811, homeowners are connected to New Jersey One Call, the local one-call center, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of their intent to dig. Professional locators are then sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags or spray paint.
Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, requires a call to 811 as part of New Jersey law. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree, and laying a patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before starting.
The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects, and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
Visit www.call811.com or www.southjerseygas.com for more information about 811 and safe digging practices.
South Jersey Gas is the principal subsidiary of South Jersey Industries (NYSE:SJI) and provides natural gas service to approximately 369,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, and significant portions of Gloucester, Burlington and Camden counties in New Jersey. Visit http://www.southjerseygas.com to learn more about South Jersey Gas and its programs.