National call system offers dig data by the numbers
National call system offers dig data by the numbers

By Adam Wilmoth

Published: July 6, 2007

Property owners and contractors now have an easier way to find out whether their backyard projects could turn destructive or even deadly.

The new national 811 system integrates the 62 call-before-you-dig programs across the country. Existing numbers and one-call contact information are still operational, but consumers and contractors now can simply call 811 from any telephone — including cell phones — to be automatically connected to the one-call system in their area.

"A national system is important because we're such a mobile society,” said Doug MacMillan, executive director of Oklahoma One-Call System Inc. "If you're a contractor coming up from North Texas, you don't have an excuse anymore for saying you don't know the number.”

Oklahoma One-Call — also known as Call Okie — is a nonprofit trade association with more than 1,000 member utility owners in the state. State law requires homeowners and contractors to contact One-Call before digging anywhere in Oklahoma.

Most homes in Oklahoma City have up to 15 lines under their property, including natural gas, electricity, cable, water, sewer and other systems. The new 811 system is designed to encourage more people to call by making the number easier to remember.

"You'd be surprised how many lives are saved by dialing those three numbers,” MacMillan said. "Contractors already know how to contact us, but we hope this new system will lead casual people who are putting in a sprinkler or French drain to contact us.”

When the One-Call system is contacted, utility owners with lines under the property are contacted. Those utilities then have 48 hours to visit the property and mark the lines with paint and flags. The service is provided free to the homeowners and contractors.

"It's not cheap for us, but it's far less expensive than the damage one might experience with an excavating issue,” Oklahoma Natural Gas spokesman Don Sherry said. "Beyond question of dollars is the issue of public safety. We want to keep our facilities in tact, but more broadly, we want to keep our systems safe.”

Preventing damage, injury

One-Call is essential because it is cheaper to prevent damage than to repair it, MacMillan said.

"If something gets damaged, not only are our utilities losing revenue, but they also increase their liability. Just think if someone were to hit a large gas line, there could be deaths involved.”

One-Call also is important to prevent less serious but still inconvenient problems.

"We got one call from a guy who was irate because his neighbor cut his cable line on Bedlam weekend,” MacMillan said. "He wanted us to go out and do something to his house right then.”

Oklahoma One-Call last year received 623,000 calls and sent out 4.3 million excavation notices to its member utilities.

"The use of a one-call system is critical because it is the best tool all of us who are operators of underground facilities have to prevent damage to our system by excavators,” Sherry said. "Most people are simply unaware of the vast infrastructure that exists. Anything we can do to increase the probability that someone is going to use the system and give us the opportunity to mark our system and prevent an accident is a valuable tool. We think from that standpoint, having an easy number to remember is going to be important.”

Besides the new 811 number, contractors and property owners still can contact the Oklahoma One-Call system at (800) 522-6543 or online at www.callokie.com.