May 14, 2008— The Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the nation’s leading organization focused on protecting underground utility lines and the safety of people who dig near them, has announced findings from its first-ever National Utility Damage Assessment, which showed Americans unintentionally damage underground utilities approximately once per minute every year, risking serious injuries and costly service disruptions, fines and repair costs.
The National Utility Damage Assessment is comprised of data from CGA’s Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) that illustrates recent utility damage trends (2006), as well as results from a national public opinion study of “do-it-yourself” (DIY) homeowners. This information, along with a series of relevant trend data, raises concerns about a likely increase in digging potentially resulting in an increase in utility damages for the remainder of 2008 and beyond, says the alliance.
According to the assessment, people who fail to notify a local one-call center before digging cause approximately 40 percent of all utility damages, making it the top reason for these dangerous and costly incidents. This statistic jumps to 60 percent for landscaping and fence building, two types of projects that typically occur near homes.
The nation’s 62 one-call centers, located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, contact appropriate utility companies after receiving a call from someone who intends to dig. Locating technicians from these utility companies mark the approximate location of their lines with water-soluble paint or flags to reduce the likelihood of a digger striking a line.
811 launched as the national call-before-you-dig telephone number on May 1, 2007, as a way to reach all 62 one-call centers with the same, easy-to-remember phone number. The number earned this designation from the Federal Communications Commission in 2005 at the direction of an Act of Congress in 2002.
The National Utility Damage Assessment is available for download.
CGA is a member-driven association of nearly 1,400 individuals, organizations and sponsors in every facet of the underground utility industry. Established in 2000, CGA is committed to saving lives and preventing damage to American underground infrastructure by promoting effective damage prevention practices. For more information, see the Web site.
