Farmers aren’t the only ones talking about spring planting, and as Iowa homeowners start sprucing up their yards with landscaping projects, they’re reminded it’s the law to call Iowa One Call at 811 before digging.
Alliant Energy spokesman Chris Caporale says the call is free and crews will respond within a couple of days to ensure your work can proceed without a hitch.
“They’ll come out, mark all your underground lines, and that could be a gas line, electric line, to just make sure everyone’s safe,” Caporale says. “You don’t want to hit any of those and not be aware of where they are in your yard.”
The state law was enacted in 1993, mandating that Iowans use the service before taking a shovel to dirt, and especially before using anything larger to dig.
“Whether you’re gardening, whether you’re planting a tree, whether you’ve got some projects, building a new shed, fence or putting in a deck, anything like that,” he says, “we just want to make sure customers are calling 811 a couple days before they start their digging.”
Once the lines are marked, usually with color-coded spray paint or little flags, you can proceed with your project.
“So, 18 inches on either side of the marked line is relatively safe, anywhere within that, we recommend hand digging,” Caporale says. “So using a small trowel or whatever it might be, using your hands and being a little bit more careful, because if you start putting the shovel into that space, there’s a chance you do hit the line.”
Hitting a buried gas line or electrical cable could cause electrocution or an expensive leak. Iowa One Call takes some 600,000 calls a year, which equates to more than 3.6-million notices back to utilities. Learn more about digging on your property at IowaOneCall.com.