April is National Safe Digging Month

With April comes the Fifth Annual National Safe Digging Month, and CenturyLink wants to remind all Indiana residents to always call 811 at least a few days prior to any digging project.

Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines, and inconvenient outages. Big or small, all digging projects should be reported by calling 811, even if you are just installing a mailbox, building a deck, or planting a tree or garden.

The depth of utility lines can vary for any number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects, and uneven surfaces. By calling 811, you can ensure these lines are properly marked, eliminating the risk of striking an underground utility line.

According to the Damage Information Reporting Tool report, utility lines are damaged by digging once every three minutes nationwide, and one-third of these incidents are caused by failure of the professional excavator or homeowner to call 811 before beginning their digging project.