City Utility System Adjusts to 811 Call Before You Dig Changes
Alexandria, La. (Jan. 6, 2022) — When residents or contractors reach out to 811 Call Before You Dig, they can expect a return verification from Alexandria Utility System according to the changes in the law that took effect January 1.
“There were two changes to the law that took effect at the first of the year. One affects the submission process for excavators and the other requires utilities to confirm if there is no conflict with utility service equipment in the proposed excavation site,” explained Richard Williamson, interim utility director for the City of Alexandria. “We are using Louisiana One Call’s positive response reporting system to verify when there is no conflict, which puts us in compliance with the revised law.”
Louisiana 811 Damage Prevention Manager Cole Vanderlick explained that prior to this year’s revision, utility companies were not required to notify excavators if there was no conflict with utility equipment in a proposed excavation area. As a result, excavators didn’t know for sure if there was not a conflict or if the utility company had not yet reviewed the site. “This change allows the excavator to be more confident moving forward knowing the status of each utility system involved,” Vanderlick said.
Vanderlick said the other change involves the white lining process used to identify a proposed excavation site when submitting a dig ticket. Effective the first of the year, excavators who submit their dig ticket online at www.laonecall.com and use the online mapping tool to outline the excavation site are no longer required to white line mark the actual site. Excavators who submit their request over the phone or who do not use the online mapping tool to identify the proposed excavation site are still required to white line the actual site to identify the proposed excavation location.
For more information on the Louisiana 811 program, you may call 811 or visit their website at either www.laonecall.com or www.louisiana811.com.
Contact:
Jim Smilie
Communications
318.449.5038 (Office)
318.730.1683 (Cell)
jim.smilie@cityofalex.com
