Call 811 Before Digging in Dallas & Plano, TX: Why Utility Locates Matter

Written by Steven Shipler, Texas Licensed Master Plumber, Responsible Master Plumber (RMP), MBA. Texas Master Plumber License #45825.

One of the most important things we do before putting an excavator bucket, trencher, auger, shovel, or other excavation equipment into the ground is simple:

Call 811 before you dig.

Whether we are excavating for a sewer replacement, water service, gas line, drainage system, foundation repair, pool plumbing, underground leak repair, or utility installation, underground utilities have to be taken seriously.

A property can look completely open above ground while electricity, natural gas, communications, water, sewer, fiber-optic cable, irrigation, and other infrastructure may be buried below the surface.

One wrong move with an excavator can turn a normal construction project into an emergency.

What Is Texas811?

811 is the national call-before-you-dig number.

In Texas, Texas811 operates the notification system that connects an excavator’s planned work area with participating underground utility operators.

When a locate ticket is created, potentially affected utility operators are notified about the planned excavation.

Those utility operators then respond to the locate request and, where appropriate, mark their underground facilities using paint, flags, or another approved response method.

The objective is straightforward:

Give the person digging information about underground utilities before the digging begins.

Texas811 Is Free

For normal 811 locate requests, there is no charge to the homeowner or excavator for the Texas811 notification service.

That makes skipping the process especially difficult to justify.

The cost of damaging an underground utility can be enormous compared with the small amount of planning required to submit a locate request and allow the affected utilities time to respond.

How Long Before Digging Should You Contact 811 in Texas?

Texas811 currently instructs excavators to submit a normal locate request at least two business days before excavation.

Weekends and applicable holidays are excluded from that waiting period.

Texas811 also identifies a normal locate ticket as one submitted no more than 14 days before the expected excavation date.

This is important for project scheduling.

If your excavation crew is supposed to arrive Monday morning, waiting until the weekend to think about utility locations is too late.

The 811 ticket should be part of the project planning process—not something somebody remembers when the excavator is already sitting in the driveway.

Why Calling 811 Is So Important

Underground utility damage is not just an inconvenience.

Depending on what is struck, the consequences can include:

• Natural-gas release
• Electrical shock or electrocution hazards
• Fire
• Loss of electrical service
• Water-main or service-line damage
• Sewer damage
• Fiber-optic or communications outages
• Emergency evacuations
• Project shutdowns
• Utility repair charges
• Schedule delays
• Property damage
• Civil penalties when applicable
• Injury to workers or the public

The paint on the ground may look simple.

The infrastructure underneath it may not be.

The Texas811 Five-Step Safe Digging Process

What Do the Utility Marking Colors Mean?

Texas811 follows the standard underground utility color-code system.

Yellow Paint Deserves Your Full Attention

For plumbers and excavation contractors, yellow markings are particularly important because they can indicate natural-gas, petroleum, steam, or other gaseous-material facilities.

A gas line is not something you want to discover with the teeth of an excavator bucket.

When working around yellow marks, the excavation plan should be reviewed carefully and the utility location treated with the seriousness it deserves.

The Utility Marks Are Not an Exact Excavation Line

This is one of the most important concepts for excavation crews to understand.

The utility mark tells us where underground infrastructure is believed to be located.

It does not mean:

• The excavator can dig directly against the mark
• The utility is exactly underneath the center of the paint
• The line is at a predictable depth
• The depth is the same throughout the property
• All underground infrastructure has necessarily been marked

Soil erosion, grading, previous excavation, landscaping, root growth, utility repairs, and property improvements can all affect depth and site conditions.

Understanding the Tolerance Zone

Texas pipeline-damage-prevention rules establish a tolerance zone around marked underground pipelines.

For regulated underground pipelines, the tolerance zone is based on the pipeline width plus a minimum distance extending outward on each side.

When excavation enters that zone, additional care is required to prevent damage.

Depending on conditions, safer excavation methods can include:

• Careful hand excavation
• Soft digging
• Vacuum excavation
• Pneumatic hand tools where appropriate
• Other procedures approved by the underground pipeline operator

The goal is not simply to avoid touching the paint.

The goal is to expose or work around underground facilities without damaging them.

811 Does Not Necessarily Locate Every Private Utility

This is where homeowners and contractors sometimes misunderstand the 811 process.

Texas811 notifies participating utility operators.

Those utility operators typically locate the facilities they own.

Privately owned underground lines may not be included.

811 and Private Utility Locating Are Two Different Things

This distinction matters.

An 811 locate is an essential first step.

Private utility locating can be a second step when the job site contains underground lines that are not owned or marked by participating public utility operators.

For larger excavation projects, we want to understand both.

Three Tools Used Around Underground Utility Locating

1. RIDGID SeekTech SR-20 Utility Locator

A professional locating receiver can help trace compatible underground conductive utilities when the line can be properly energized or has a traceable signal.

This type of equipment can be useful for private utility locating and plumbing diagnostics.

It does not replace the requirement to contact 811 before excavation.

2. RIDGID SeekTech ST-305 Line Transmitter

A line transmitter can apply a locating signal to compatible metallic piping or tracer wire so that the utility path can be followed with an appropriate receiver.

Again, private locating equipment should be considered additional information—not a substitute for the official 811 process.

3. Vacuum Excavation / Soft-Dig Equipment

When the excavation approaches a known utility, controlled excavation methods can help expose the underground facility with less risk than aggressively digging through the area with a mechanical excavator.

When Should a Plumber Call 811?

Plumbing excavation frequently crosses areas where other utilities are buried.

811 should be incorporated into planning for work such as:

• Sewer line replacement
• Sewer lateral excavation
• Water service replacement
• Underground gas-line installation
• Gas-line replacement
• Cleanout installation
• Drainage excavation
• Under-slab plumbing access from the exterior
• Trenching from a meter to a house
• Underground pool plumbing
• Fire-line excavation
• Commercial underground utility work

When Should a Homeowner Call 811?

811 is not only for large construction companies.

Homeowners should think about underground utility locating before projects including:

• Installing a fence
• Planting a tree
• Installing a mailbox
• Installing an irrigation system
• Installing an in-ground basketball goal
• Building a deck or patio
• Installing drainage
• Digging for landscaping
• Installing posts
• Installing outdoor electrical
• Excavating for plumbing repairs

Small excavation equipment can damage a utility just as effectively as large excavation equipment.

811 Before Sewer Excavation

A sewer replacement may require a trench extending from the home toward the city sewer connection.

That route can potentially cross:

• Natural-gas lines
• Water services
• Electrical services
• Fiber-optic lines
• Telephone or cable lines
• Irrigation
• Other sewer lines

The fact that we know where the sewer is located does not tell us where every other utility is located.

That is why 811 should happen before the trench is opened.

811 Before Gas-Line Excavation

Gas-line installations and replacements deserve an especially careful excavation plan.

Before trenching from a meter toward a building, we want the existing utilities identified and the intended excavation area clearly understood.

This protects the excavation crew and helps prevent the new gas-line route from creating conflicts with existing infrastructure.

811 Before Water-Line Excavation

Water-service replacements frequently run from the meter near the property line toward the building.

That path often runs through the same area used by other underground utilities.

A leaking water line may also saturate the soil and make existing underground conditions more difficult to evaluate.

Locating before excavation should be part of the repair plan.

811 Before Slab Leak Excavation

Some slab-leak repairs stay inside the building.

Others involve rerouting water lines or excavating outside the foundation.

Once excavation extends into the yard or around the structure, underground utility safety becomes part of the job.

Calling 811 in Dallas, Texas

Dallas contains an enormous network of underground infrastructure.

Residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, alleys, streets, easements, and rights-of-way can contain multiple utilities occupying a relatively small underground area.

Whether a contractor is replacing a residential sewer lateral or beginning larger civil excavation, utility locating belongs at the front end of the job.

City of Dallas construction documents and utility guidance also reinforce the importance of contacting the underground utility notification system before excavation.

Dallas Service Area

Calling 811 in Plano, Texas

Plano properties can contain underground electric service, gas piping, water services, sewer laterals, communications, irrigation, pool utilities, and other underground systems.

That makes utility planning important even on what appears to be a simple residential excavation.

A sewer trench, water-line trench, drainage project, tree installation, fence installation, or gas-line replacement can cross existing infrastructure.

Calling 811 before excavation should be part of the job schedule.

Plano Service Area

811 Before Digging in Richardson, Texas

The same principles apply in Richardson.

Older neighborhoods can be particularly challenging because properties may have decades of repairs, additions, irrigation, replaced utilities, detached structures, mature landscaping, and private underground lines.

Never assume the underground layout matches what is visible above ground.

Why White-Lining the Excavation Area Helps

White paint or white flags can be used to identify the proposed excavation area.

This can help utility locators understand exactly where the contractor intends to work.

On a large residential or commercial property, that can significantly improve communication.

Instead of saying, “We are digging somewhere in the backyard,” the excavation path can be clearly identified.

Do Not Start Digging Just Because You See Flags

This is another important point.

Seeing markings does not automatically mean every affected utility has completed its response.

Texas811 instructs excavators to confirm that all affected utilities have responded before excavation begins.

If a utility has not responded, the appropriate follow-up should be made before proceeding.

Every Excavator Should Have the Proper Ticket

An excavation contractor should not simply assume somebody else’s locate ticket automatically covers its work.

Texas811 specifically advises subcontractors that the general contractor’s ticket does not automatically cover the subcontractor’s excavation.

The company actually performing excavation should make sure it has the correct notification coverage and retain the ticket information for the project.

Keep the 811 Ticket Number

The ticket number is important project documentation.

It can be needed to:

• Confirm the original locate request
• Check utility responses
• Update a locate
• Submit a recall
• Report a no-response situation
• Document that notification occurred before excavation

What If the Marks Disappear?

Do not simply guess where the markings used to be.

Construction traffic, rain, mowing, excavation, dirt piles, and normal site activity can destroy paint and flags.

If the markings are no longer reliable, the ticket should be addressed and the appropriate refresh or update requested before excavation continues.

What If You Think the Utility Marks Are Wrong?

Stop and resolve the discrepancy.

If field conditions, utility equipment, meters, pedestals, valves, or other evidence suggest a utility should be present but the marks do not make sense, do not use the excavator to find out who is right.

Texas811 provides procedures for addressing questionable or incomplete markings.

A $10 Decision Can Become a $10,000 Problem

In reality, contacting 811 does not cost the excavator anything for the normal notification service.

But treating utility locating as an inconvenience can create a very expensive problem.

A damaged utility can lead to:

• Emergency utility response
• Repair charges
• Lost labor
• Idle excavation equipment
• Customer delays
• Neighborhood service interruption
• Insurance claims
• Regulatory consequences
• Potential injuries

There is no good business reason to skip the locate process.

Schedule Online

Schedule a leak-detection or underground plumbing evaluation below.

15 Frequently Asked Questions About Calling 811 Before Digging