Dial utility line locators before you start digging
I will be doing some planting in my garden this fall and am worried about damaging the cable television lines that I think go through a couple of the areas where I will be digging. How do I figure out where these lines might be?
State law requires that you call JULIE (Joint Locating Information for Excavators) to have utility lines marked in your garden before beginning a digging project. Call 811 or 800-892-0123 to enter a locate request for your property. The operator will ask you a series of questions about the work you are planning, including the areas of your property that need to be marked. You can also submit a utility locate request online from the JULIE website.
Be sure to call at least two business days before starting your project. Your excavation project must begin within 14 days of your initial call to JULIE. If you missed that window of time, you can have your garden remarked. There is no charge for this service. Note: JULIE does not cover the city of Chicago, so call Digger (Chicago Utility Alert Network) at 312-744-7000 to have utilities marked.
If your site is clear of a line, you will find a flag with “OK” or “clear” written on it in the general area you asked to be located. You may also get a phone call or email stating that your property is clear of a particular utility line. Otherwise, colored flags and paint will be used to mark the locations of the lines. Different colors are used for different utilities: red for electric, yellow for gas, blue for potable water and orange for communications. JULIE will not locate lines that you have installed, such as gas lines for grills or electric lines for landscape lighting.
Locating an underground utility line is not an exact science. The marks indicate the approximate location of a buried line. Dig outside the mark's tolerance zone, which varies according to the buried utility but is at least 1.5 feet on either side of the mark. If you must excavate within the tolerance zone, dig next to the marks, not on top of them. Dig very carefully by hand if you must excavate within this zone.
The depths of the lines can vary. Communications lines are often only a couple of inches deep, and they are very easy to cut with a spade. I once cut a cable TV line without realizing it while I was edging a bed. Gas and electric lines are typically much deeper, though I did once cut a gas line that was about 6 inches deep while planting a perennial. (If you do accidentally hit a gas line, evacuate the area and immediately call 911. You should also notify JULIE and the proper utility company.)
In some situations, you may want to carefully locate the communications lines and lift them above the bed so that you can see them and complete your tilling and planting before reburying the lines.
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