Make the 811 Promise

Damage to underground utility lines is a major problem in the United States. Incidents caused by unsafe digging practices can compromise community safety and disconnect people from critical services.

And these incidents occur more often than you’d think. Digging activity damages a buried utility line every three minutes in the United States, and one-third of incidents are caused because a free call wasn’t made to 811 to notify the local call-before-you-dig center, according to Common Ground Alliance statistics.

This free phone call is the first step to prevent utility damage, and it's an important one. Calling 811 before digging reduces the likelihood of an incident to less than 1 percent.

There are five steps to safer digging, requiring participation from all stakeholder groups:

• Make a free call to 811 a few days before digging.
• Wait the required time.
• Locate accurately.
• Respect the marks.
• Dig with care.

The last four steps only matter when you take the first one and call 811. That’s why we’re asking you to make THE 811 PROMISE.