Questions and Answers
Public utilities are the electric, gas, phone/cable, water and sewer lines that are brought in to a point by agencies such as Qwest, Excel, Centerpoint, Connexus, and where they determine their responsibility ends.
The area of responsibility can vary from place to place so you may want to find out where their responsibility ends and where yours begins! As an example:
Some cities are responsible for the water service line from the street connection all the way in to the main structure where others are only responsible from the street connection to the water shut off valve in the yard or at the property line and, your responsible from that point in to the main structure!
Private utilities are the electric, gas, phone/cable, water and sewer lines that are added beyond the responsibility point of the public agencies.
Examples are: Electric lines that go to outbuildings such as sheds, pole barns, garages, pools, etc.
Gas lines that go to grills, pools, or outbuildings;
Phone/Cable lines to outbuildings; Water or Sewer lines to outbuildings.
If you have a septic system, well, or irrigation system, those are also “private”.
“Gopher State One Call” does not do the locating/marking of utilities!
They are a resource that takes your information such as: the address of where the work is to be performed, what type of work is being done, how long will the work take place, etc.
Once all the information has been given to them, they will give you a “start” date and time for you to begin your excavation. This is so there is enough time for the various locating entities to come out to locate and mark those utilities that are in the area of work being done. Gopher State One Call determines which public utilities are in your area and notifies them so that they can get those utilities located and marked!
It’s your responsibility to have any “private” utilities located and marked and that’s where Bullseye Private Utility Locating comes in!
As stated earlier, Gopher State One Call will give you a “start” date and time that you can begin your excavation project.
Please wait until that time to start your work. Your life is not worth being too anxious! While cutting through a phone/cable line may be an extreme annoyance for you, cutting through an electric or gas line can be DEADLY!
Most public agencies utilize a “positive” response system which means that they will notify you either with a flag in the ground, or they will make attempts to contact you via phone or fax to let you know that there is either NO conflict or the area has been marked where the work to be performed is at.
I have heard many times from residents that, “I received a call saying that there is NO conflict in the area of work to be performed, so we started digging and cut right through our phone line”! Please remember, different agencies utilize different locators, and they don’t always locate everything at the same time, so PLEASE wait until your start date and time.
Once you’ve waited until your start date and time and you begin your excavation project, utilities marked are good for 14 days. After 14 days if the project is not complete, please call to have your locate refreshed.
No marked utility is 100% accurate. The equipment used to find those utilities is very good but, you need to understand that these utilities are underground and can’t visually be seen. According to GSOC (Gopher State One Call) 2 feet on either side of the marked lines is a “danger zone” and should be hand dug so that the utility can be safely verified.
Not everything is traceable. Anything plastic such as irrigation pipe or gas lines are not traceable unless there is a tracer wire that is laid out with it. Fiber optic lines are glass and that cannot be traced unless it has a tracer wire running with it. Sanitary sewer lines typically aren’t traceable unless you can access a point of entry such as a clean out to run a traceable source into the line.
Email us at: Dan@locatemyutilities.com
Our office number is: 763-754-8014
Dan’s cell number is: 763-238-5749
Brenda’s cell number is: 763-238-5750
Fax number: 763-226-2449
Protect your Private Utilities” from dangers and injury to yourself…
Call Gopher State One Call at (800)252-1166 or (651)454-0002 to have your public utilities located and marked then call us and protect your private utilities.
470 105th Avenue North West | Coon Rapids, MN 55448 | 763.754.8014 | 763.238.5749 | dan@LocateMyUtilities.com