Got Locates? You might be wondering what that means. Prior to any excavation, you must get locates for the underground utilities that you might encounter. Locates are ground markings identifying the position of utility lines based on records or electronic locating equipment. Without locates, the safety of you and your surroundings can be compromised. Locates are easy to get! A call to Ontario OneCall (1-800-400-2255) will get you locates with many utility companies within five days. Not all utility companies are members of ON1Call so be sure to check with non-members for additional locates. Once you have locates, you’ll notice coloured markings around the excavation area. These markings represent different utilities. Locates are valid for 30 days from the date of the locate. If your excavation project exceeds 30 days, you will need to contact ON1Call again.
If you decide to excavate without locates, you could pay! Even if you are excavating on private property, the respective utility company owns the underground infrastructure. Causing damage to these utilities without getting locates could create expensive restoration costs, legal action against you and severe injury to yourself and potentially others.
For further information, check www.on1call.com.