Homeowners Guide

IT'S FREE - Contacting Diggers Hotline before you begin your project to have buried lines beneath your job site located is free. But if you damage a buried facility without a call to Diggers Hotline, you will be financially responsible for the damages, as well as a fine of up to $2,000.

IT'S EASY - You can call Diggers Hotline simply by dialing 811 or you can submit a request through the email-a-locate program online. Call Center Representatives are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

IT'S THE LAW - Wisconsin Statute 182.0175 requires all excavators, including homeowners and construction contractors, to contact Diggers Hotline at least three working days before any work is done that disturbs the soil in any way.

Wisconsin state law requires you contact Diggers Hotline three working days before beginning excavation. A working day, as defined by law, is any day other than Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.

It is important to contact Diggers Hotline before starting any projects that disturbs the soil in any way. This could include, but is not limited to: planting trees, hedges, gardens and installing fences, swimming pools, mail box posts and patios.

When you plan on doing work that involves digging you will submit a locate request with Diggers Hotline either by dialing 811 or by filing online through the email-a-locate program. Diggers Hotline takes the information from the person excavating and then will relay that information to the owners of underground facilities that may have lines in that area. Diggers Hotline does not locate the underground facilities; it is up to the facility owners to put the paint and flags on the ground.

When you make the call or submit your request online you will be asked several questions about the nature of the work. Some of the questions may not apply to you, but all questions need to be asked to everyone.

Having this information ready will shorten the call and ensure accurate locate markings from Diggers Hotline member utilities:

• Specify you are a homeowner and give your name, telephone number and address
• Specify if you are doing the work for yourself or for someone else
• The city, township or village in which the work will be done
• The street address of your work site
• The nearest intersecting road and distance to that road
• The kind of work you are doing, such as planting a tree or putting up a fence
• Whether any explosives, boring equipment or equipment that reaches 14 feet or higher into the air will be used
• The date you plan to start your work
• The area you would like to have marked for underground facilities on the property. For example, "a 20-foot radius of the tree in the back yard," or "a 10-foot perimeter of the staked area west of the garage."

Contacting Diggers Hotline will not get private facilities marked. Examples of private facilities include an electric line to a detached garage or lamp, underground sprinkler systems, security systems, sewer or water laterals and walkway lights connected by underground cables. These are facilities that are owned by the person who owns the property and will not be marked by locators working for the utilities. To get private facilities marked you can contact a locating company.

Keep the ticket number you receive from Diggers Hotline; it is your legal proof that you have contacted Diggers Hotline and complied with state law.

You have 10 calendar days from your project's start date and time (which you will receive from Diggers Hotline) to begin your work. The ticket remains valid if you continue to work on your project without interruptions of more than 10 calendar days, and the marks are in tact. If there is inactivity on your project for more than 10 calendar days, or the marks are missing or destroyed you will have to contact Diggers Hotline again to get a relocate.

After the utility markings have been placed and your start date and time have passed, you may begin your project, but do not excavate with power tools within 18 inches of the markings. If you need to dig closer to the marks, hand tools, such as shovels, may be used with caution.

If you expose an underground facility, it is your responsibility to inspect it before backfilling. If damage of any kind is discovered or suspected, you are required to notify the affected utility immediately.

After you are done with your project, it is your responsibility to remove any flags that have marked underground facilities.

If you find paint marks or flags on your property and you did not call Diggers Hotline, leave the marks or flags in place, as they are for a professional excavation project in your area.