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Ameren reminding to call 811 before digging

Officials from Ameren are drawing attention to the phone number that you should always call before turning over dirt.

Saturday is National 811 Day. It’s a way to remind excavators and homeowners to always call 8-1-1 before digging.

Gina Meehan-Taylor, Supervisor of Public Awareness with Ameren says they’ve seen a number of issues with excavators hitting lines containing electricity, gas, sewage or water.

She says a lot of homeowners don’t consider themselves excavators, but that simply means anyone who is moving dirt.

“So if you’re going to be putting in a deck, or a mailbox, or a fence or anything you really need to call before you dig,” says Meehan-Taylor. “It is a free phone call and a free service. You just got to call two working days before you start digging. So if you’re going to be digging on the weekend you need to call 8-1-1 before 4 o’clock on Wednesday.”

She said that Ameran contracts out the work and will have the service lines marked within two business days.

Meehan-Taylor says Ameren received about 400,000 notification through 811 last year, but she says it really should be about double that.

A lot of times if a line is hit, that utility’s service to the area has to be cut off for a period. She adds that particularly in newer neighborhoods their tend to be power lines underground.

Meehan-Taylor says if you do hit a natural gas line, make sure your first is not to 811, but 911.

Each state has their own one-call system, and Illinois that system is called Julie, but if you’re shy about calling Julie you can also logon to illinois1call.com

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