LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Entergy Arkansas is reminding customers to call 811 before doing any digging in the ground. August 11 (8/11) is designated as “Call before you dig day,” and the company is reminding homeowners and professional contractors to use the free 811 service before digging to reduce the risk of striking an underground utility or gas line.
“The safety of our customers is always our top priority,” said Michael Considine, Entergy Arkansas’ vice president of reliability. “August 11is the perfect time to remind everyone to take the extra step and call 811 before any digging project, large or small. Making that call is important to avoid service interruptions and, most of all, personal injury or worse.”
The depth of underground utility lines varies and there may be multiple utility lines in one common area. The risk of striking underground utility lines exists even when digging only a few inches.
Entergy Arkansas hopes August 11 will serve as an important reminder to all people who excavate or dig to call 811 at least two full business days before digging to have the approximate location of their utility lines marked. This process helps prevent injuries, property damage and inconvenient utility outages.
After you make the call to 811, professional locators mark the approximate locations of underground lines at the requested digging site with flags, paint or both. Markings show the location of underground lines and help prevent undesired consequences such as injury, service disruptions or costly fines and repair costs.
“Regardless of what you plan to do, how deep you plan to dig or even if you’ve called before for a similar project, every job requires a call first,” said Considine. “Not only is it the safe thing to do, but it’s also the law.”
Calling 811 before you dig helps prevent serious consequences that could occur from digging without knowing what’s below the surface – not only now, but year-round.
If you suspect utility damage of any kind, leave the area immediately and call 1-800-ENTERGY (1-800-368-3749) or call 911. A gas leak could be occurring if you smell the distinctive natural gas odor, hear a hissing or whistling sound near a gas appliance or see dead vegetation or bubbles near a gas line.
For more information, visit our website: https://www.entergy.com/safety/dig/
