Fence posts are one of the most common ways homeowners hit a buried utility. The call costs nothing and takes about ten minutes.
If your spring project involves a shovel, an auger or a post-hole digger, Colorado law requires you to notify 811 first. It is free, and it applies to homeowners exactly as it applies to contractors.
## Projects that need a call
- Installing a fence — post holes go deeper than almost any other homeowner project - Planting a tree or large shrub - Installing a mailbox post or a basketball hoop - Putting in a sprinkler system - Building a deck or a shed with footings - Landscaping that involves grading or trenching - Digging a garden bed deeper than a spade's depth
## How it works
1. **Notify 811** at least three business days before you dig. Call 811 or submit online through Colorado 811 — 72% of Colorado tickets are now filed online. 2. **Mark your dig area in white** — white paint, flour or white flags around where you plan to work. 3. **Wait for the marks.** Utilities will send locators to mark their buried facilities in the standard colors. 4. **Respect the marks.** Hand-dig within the tolerance zone on either side of a mark. 5. **Dig with care.** If you damage something — even slightly, even if nothing is leaking — report it.
## What gets marked, and what doesn't
Colorado 811 notifies the utilities that own facilities in the public right-of-way. They will mark their own lines.
They will **not** mark private facilities on your property: the gas line from the meter to a detached garage, your sprinkler system, invisible dog fence, landscape lighting, or the electric run to a shed. Those belong to you. If you need them located, a private locating company can do it — Colorado 811 publishes a directory of them.
## If you hit something
Get people away from the area. If it is a gas line, or you smell gas, leave immediately and call 911 from a safe distance — do not try to stop the leak, and do not operate anything electrical.
For any damage, including a nicked coating or a scratched cable that seems fine, call the facility owner. A small nick left unreported becomes a failure months later, and by then nobody knows why.
- homeowners
- 811
- safe digging