For April, CPUC Reminds Folks to 'Call Before You Dig'

In support of National Safe Digging Month, the California Public Utilities Commission is reminding all Californians to call 811 before starting any construction project that might have an impact on underground utilities.

According to the CPUC, April is the month when stakeholders in the utilities industry come together to discuss how important it is that professionals and homeowners alike call 811 and follow the safe digging procedures to help prevent injuries, property damage and outages.

San Bruno is all too familiar with the need to be aware of underground pipelines, having experienced the PG&E pipeline explosion in the Crestmoor neighborhood in 2010.

The in a 30-inch natural gas transmission line, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which conducted a yearlong investigation into the disaster. But the explosion opened many people's eyes about the country's vast pipeline system that, for years, has mainly been overlooked by governments and unchecked by regulators.

In San Bruno, firefighters said the Crestmoor neighborhood.

For National Safe Digging Month, the CPUC said the following examples warrant a 811 call:

• Installing a mailbox,
• putting in a fence,
• building a deck, and
• laying a patio.

Historically, underground pipelines get struck more than 250,000 times a year because excavation projects are started before the proper call gets made, according to the CPUC.

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