Monday, August 11 is National 811 Day. Always call 811 or visit Gopher State One Call’s website before digging — it’s the law. Utility lines may be just inches below the surface, and hitting one could cause outages, damage or even an explosion.
To dig safely — and legally in Minnesota — you need to do three things:
- Call 811 at least two business days before you dig.
- Mark your yard (in white) so the locator knows where you’re digging and can mark the utilities in your yard appropriately.
- Respect the locate marks and hand-dig carefully around them.
Utility locators follow the uniform color codes mandated by the American Public Works Association (APWA) for locate marks.
- White: proposed construction
- Orange: telephone & cable TV
- Yellow: gas, oil, steam
- Red: electric
- Green: sewers & drain lines
- Blue: water
- Pink: temporary survey markings
- Purple: reclaimed water.
