Autumn is well known as the best time of year to plant apple trees, but did you know it’s also the best time of year to plant spring-flowering bulbs and clean up the edging on your garden beds? These tasks make for great weekend projects, but don’t jump in until you’ve had your project area marked for underground utilities first. Even small backyard projects can result in damaged utility lines, quickly turning a small task into a potentially dangerous—and expensive—mess. Gopher State One Call (GSOC), Minnesota’s 811, is ready to help your project start off smoothly this fall!
White Lining the Dig Site
The very first step for a successful digging project in your yard is to determine where you plan to dig. Once you know where you’ll break ground—or think you might break ground—you’ll need to mark the site using white paint or flags. Both of these can be purchased at a local home improvement store. There are several ways to white line your dig site—click here to learn more.
If you’re a professional excavator completing this project, you have the option to use Electronic White Lining through ITIC. Click here for more information on Electronic White Lining.
Timing Your Project
Before you break out the shovel, head over to our ticketing page or call 8-1-1 to submit a locate request. You’ll need to submit the request a minimum of 48 hours, not including the day of submission, weekends, or holidays, before you place to dig. That means you’ll want to submit by Tuesday if you’ll be digging on Saturday. When you submit a locate request, you’ll be asked information about your project and if you’ve white lined the dig site. Afterwards, you’ll be sent an emailed copy of your ticket.
If you believe you may have private facilities at your dig site, such as an electric line to a secondary building or a gas line to a grill or firepit, you’ll need to hire a private locator to have these lines marked as well. Click here to view more examples of private utilities and access a list of private facility locators.
Wait for the Marks
During the waiting period, utility companies will send locators to your dig site to mark for underground utilities. Typically, each utility will send a locator for their specific utility (one locator for gas, another for electric, and so on), so don’t assume everything has been marked once you see paint or flags. You can use “Positive Response” to track which facilities have responded or marked the area as “clear” (no lines nearby). You can do this by clicking on the link in the emailed copy of your ticket. You’ll receive a second email with the Positive Response status at the locate request’s legal start time.
Get Digging!
Once you’ve waited until the legal start time and confirmed that all of the utility companies listed on your ticket have responded, it’s time to start digging! Whenever possible, avoid digging on or near any marked utility lines. If you need to get close to where a line is marked, make sure you only hand dig using a shovel or other non-mechanized tool within the “Tolerance Zone” (24 inches on either side of an unexposed facility) and dig with caution. Utility lines have the potential to be buried at any depth below the surface and can shift over time, so there’s always a chance of a damage occurring, even when using a shovel for a small project. Visit our Preparing for Excavation page for more information about the Tolerance Zone and hand digging.
Late Fall and Winter Call Center Hours
As a reminder, starting November 1, the GSOC Call Center hours shift to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. These hours will remain in place until March 31.
reach out to our team with any 811-related questions by contacting our Customer Support team at 651-681-7326 or [email protected].