LAFAYETTE, La — Aug. 11 is National 811 Day.
"8-1-1—That's what you call prior to doing any excavation or demolition in the state of Louisiana," said Billy Forest, the damage prevention coordinator for Louisiana 811.
Louisiana 811 will provide you with the guidance and information you need to ensure you're digging safely.
"Step one is to call. Step two is to get it located, and of course, you would think step three is to just go ahead and dig. It's not," Forest said. "Familiarize yourself with the processes. There's people in place that will answer your questions to explain the whole, entire process and all the different stipulations that go along with dig law."
Safe digging is important to the safety of you and your neighbors.
"Every individual address has utilities. Those utilities, if they get damaged, can affect the main utilities...serving other people in the community," Forest said. "It's not just about your individual utility—it's your neighbors. You can do something that can affect an entire city with a single shovel."
A mistake while digging can lead to a much larger problem.
"911 centers use the communication facilities. Different hospitals use gas facilities. Schools...news stations use the communications, so it's vital," Forest said. "It's critical to the infrastructure."
To spread the word on safe digging, Louisiana 811 will be at Home Depot and Stine Home & Yard on Monday, Aug. 12, giving out information and free snowballs.
- 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. — Home Depot at 3721 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy. in Lafayette
- 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. — Stine Home & Yard at 6501 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy. in Lafayette
Louisiana 811 also provides information on safe digging on their website, which you can visit by clicking here.
