Southwest Gas Warns About the Dangers Below in time for National 811 Day
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 08/09/2019 - 9:34am
August 11th is national 811 Day and Southwest Gas wants to warn customers of the dangers associated with digging into a utility line and encourage customers to know what’s below – call 811 before you dig. Most people are unaware that natural gas, electricity, communications, water and other types of utility lines that communities rely on run through corridors directly underneath them. Many of which may be buried just a few inches below ground.
Unfortunately, too many people in the United States will dig this year without first having underground utility-owned lines properly marked. This can cause interruption of service to customers and, more importantly, poses an extreme safety risk to the person digging. Southwest Gas reminds the public that a natural gas leak can be detected by a distinct sulfur-like odor, like rotten eggs, even if it’s faint or momentary. Unusual hissing or roaring coming from the ground or an above-ground pipeline, bubbling water and discolored plants or grass surrounding a pipeline, can also be signs of a leak.
An underground utility line is damaged once every six minutes nationwide because someone decided to dig without first calling 811, according to data collected by Common Ground Alliance (CGA). The CGA, the association dedicated to protecting underground utility lines and the safety of people who dig near them, collects information from utility owners throughout the United States to measure the scope of damages nationwide.
Digging without knowing the approximate location of underground utilities can result in damage to gas, electric, communications, water and sewer lines, which can lead to service disruptions, serious injuries and costly repairs.
Contact 811 from anywhere in Nevada at least two full working days (but no more than 28 days) prior to digging. 811 will send the utility companies out to the site to locate and mark the underground lines, pipes and cables at, or near, a planned dig site. Customers can also make an 811 ticket request easily online using E-Stake.
Making a call to 811 is the easiest way to make sure you keep your communities safe and connected. Data shows that when you call 811 the appropriate amount of time before digging, you have a less than 1% chance of striking a buried utility line.
Do you know what the utility markings on the ground mean? Uniform color codes for marking of underground utilities are:
- RED – electric power
- ORANGE – communications, cable TV, fiber optics (with F)
- YELLOW – gas, oil, dangerous materials, products lines
- GREEN – sanitary sewer systems
- BLUE – water systems, slurry pipelines
- PURPLE – reclaimed water
- PINK – temporary survey
- WHITE – proposed excavation
Southwest Gas Corporation provides natural gas service to over 2 million customers in Arizona, California and Nevada. For more information about Southwest Gas, please visit www.swgas.com.
