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