This April marks National Safe Digging Month. The City of Newton wants to remind residents to call 8-1-1 or visit the Iowa One Call website at least 48 hours before any digging project.
When calling 811, homeowners and contractors connect with utility locators. The locators are sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags, paint, or both. An underground utility line is damaged every six minutes because someone decided to dig without first calling 811.
Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines, and inconvenient outages. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, and planting a tree or garden are examples of digging projects that should only begin a few days after a call to 811.
The depth of utility lines can vary for several 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. Thank you!