April is National Safe Digging Month

With the arrival of spring, many homeowners are gearing up for outdoor home improvement projects. To help protect these homeowners from possible hazards they may face while installing new decks or gardens, the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) is coordinating National Safety Digging Month, an awareness event designed to increase the practice of safe digging across the nation.

Laura Walter

April 13, 2010

Throughout the month, CGA will encourage individuals to call 811 before starting any digging project, large or small. The federally mandated 811 number helps prevent diggers from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines, which can result in injuries, property damage and inconvenient outages.

CGA encourages homeowners and contractors to call 811 a few days before digging. This will allow One Call Center operators to notify the affected utility companies, who will then send a professional to the digging location to mark the approximate location of any utility lines.

When digging, be sure to dig around the marks and not on them. Because utility lines may be buried at a shallow depth, it is important to recognize that even an unintended push of the shovel can have dangerous consequences.

For more information on National Safe Digging Month, visit http://www.call811.com.

About the Author

Laura Walter

Laura Walter was formerly senior editor of EHS Today. She is a subject matter expert in EHS compliance and government issues and has covered a variety of topics relating to occupational safety and health. Her writing has earned awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), the Trade Association Business Publications International (TABPI) and APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. Her debut novel, Body of Stars (Dutton) was published in 2021.