It was a warm mid-September morning, and I was getting ready to leave my house and head to Murfreesboro for a meeting. While I was in my dining room, I heard a familiar noise coming from across the street. I walked over to the front bay windows in my living room and looked out. Just as I suspected, it was a piece of construction equipment. The Bobcat was moving dirt around in the front yard of the house across the street. I did not remember seeing any utility markings on the road or in my neighbor’s yard. I grabbed my cell phone and went to the Tennessee 811 website to perform a ticket search to see if there was a valid locate request for the property. Just as I thought, there was no locate ticket. I knew I did not have a lot of time before I needed to leave and drive through Nashville traffic to get to Murfreesboro. I squeezed out a few minutes to talk to this equipment operator who was doing some landscaping.
With my 811 button-down shirt on, I crossed the street and approached the man on the piece of equipment. He turned the Bobcat off, and I introduced myself, saying that I work for Tennessee 811, and I live across the street. He said his name was Dennis. I asked Dennis if 811 had notified all the member utilities to get their underground facilities marked. When I asked, I didn’t accuse him of not entering a locate request. Dennis was truthful and said, “No, we didn’t call 811.” I explained to Dennis the importance of calling or entering a locate request with Tennessee 811. I also explained that it is required by law to have a locate request when excavating or hand digging is occurring. I pointed out the water meter box where he had removed the top layer of dirt around. I told him that he was close to a water line, since he cleared off a few inches of the topsoil. I also mentioned some of the other underground utilities in the area, such as gas, electricity, and telecommunications. I told him that I did not want to see him or anyone else damage an underground utility line. I also did not want him or his coworker to get hurt by hitting the underground electric or natural gas line. Dennis said he was going to shut down the equipment and his boss would be back in a few minutes to speak with me.
A few minutes later, Dennis’ boss, Steven, stopped by, and I spoke with him as well. I explained everything I communicated with Dennis, and it led to some good questions. Steven asked questions such as, “How long does it take for a locate request?” I told him 3 working days or 72 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. I mentioned locators do a good job and sometimes it’s before the 3 working days. He asked, “How much does it cost?” I told him that it was free and the member utilities fund the service. Steven told me the piece of equipment wouldn’t be running again until they had a valid locate request. Before I left the property, I gave Steven and his two employees some nice 811 camo hats. Steven, true to his word, entered a locate request right after I left. Over the next few days, the utilities came out and marked and that Bobcat did not run again until that ticket was valid.
My message in this story is we all play a vital role in damage prevention. You can make a difference no matter where you are. It may be your neighbor across the street, a landscaper working on a neighbor’s property, or even a contractor working on a project. If something does not look right, just ask them if 811 notified the utilities for them. Thanks for your help, and stay safe out there!