Steps to take before digging in your yard

A new fence, garden bed, tree, drainage channel, mailbox, or patio can improve your property, but even a shallow excavation may encounter buried utilities. Water lines, natural gas pipes, electrical cables, telecommunications lines, and sewer connections can run beneath lawns and driveways.

Planning the work before breaking ground helps prevent service interruptions, injuries, environmental damage, and costly repairs. The safest approach combines utility locating, local permit checks, careful marking, and controlled excavation.

Susanville residents can use the official Public Works site to find local information about streets, water, natural gas, engineering, permits, emergency contacts, and other municipal services.

Plan the work before moving soil

Define the exact area and depth of the project before contacting a utility locating service. Mark the proposed excavation with white paint, flags, or stakes so locators can identify the limits clearly. Include post holes, footing trenches, irrigation routes, drainage improvements, and any other places where soil will be disturbed.

Consider how equipment will enter the property and whether heavy machinery could affect buried pipes or shallow infrastructure. A project that appears to be entirely in a backyard may still approach a public right-of-way, sidewalk, alley, or utility easement.

Check whether the work requires a building, encroachment, grading, driveway, fence, or right-of-way permit. Susanville’s Public Works and engineering resources can help clarify requirements for work that affects sidewalks, streets, drainage systems, or other public facilities.

Contact 811 before excavation

Call 811 or submit a locate request through the appropriate California 811 service several business days before digging. This free request alerts participating utility operators and gives them time to identify and mark underground facilities in the requested area.

Provide the property address, a clear description of the planned work, and the marked excavation boundaries. Keep the request confirmation and note the date when the marks were placed. If the project changes location or expands beyond the original area, submit a new request rather than relying on the first ticket.

Wait until all participating utilities have responded and the required waiting period has passed. A locate request does not authorize digging immediately, and visible marks should never be treated as a substitute for the utility company’s response.

Account for private utility lines

Public locating services generally identify utility-owned lines up to a service point, but they may not locate every privately installed line on a property. Private facilities can include gas lines to an outdoor appliance, landscape lighting, irrigation pipes, septic systems, underground data cables, pool equipment connections, and electric lines to sheds or detached garages.

Review property records, construction plans, and previous landscaping documents for clues about private installations. If the location of a private line is uncertain, hire a qualified private utility locator before excavation. Never assume that a line is absent because it does not appear on a utility map.

Gas appliances, electrical systems, and complex water or sewer connections should be assessed by appropriately licensed professionals. This is especially important when a project involves a service line, meter, panel, trench, or connection to municipal infrastructure.

Read markings and preserve them

Utility marks use color conventions to identify the type of facility, while flags and paint often show the approximate route. Their position is an aid for safe excavation, not a precise measurement of the pipe or cable’s centerline.

Typical marking	Utility type	Safe response
Red	Electric power	Keep excavation controlled and expose the route carefully
Yellow	Natural gas or petroleum	Use extreme caution and stop if the line is unexpected
Orange	Communications or signal lines	Avoid pulling, striking, or bending the facility
Blue	Potable water	Protect the line from impact and unsupported soil
Green	Sewer or drain lines	Watch for leaks, contamination, or unstable trenches
Purple	Reclaimed water	Treat as a pressurized utility and avoid contact
Pink	Temporary survey markings	Do not mistake them for utility identification
White	Proposed excavation area	Keep digging within the marked project limits

Take photographs of the markings before work begins, particularly if rain, traffic, landscaping, or pets could remove them. Do not relocate, cover, paint over, or wash away utility marks. If marks become unclear, pause the work and request assistance.

Dig with controlled methods

Use a blunt-edged hand tool to carefully expose a marked utility when approaching its approximate route. Avoid striking directly downward over a line. Once exposed, support it as needed and leave enough room for the utility owner or a qualified contractor to inspect the condition.

Powered equipment should stay outside the tolerance zone designated by the locating service unless the line has been carefully exposed and the work method is permitted. Shovels, trenching machines, augers, and picks can all damage infrastructure when used without controlled visibility.

Never enter an unsupported trench or excavation that could collapse. Keep workers, children, pets, vehicles, and spoil piles away from the edge. Use appropriate protective systems and follow occupational safety requirements for deeper excavations.

Respond correctly to damage or warning signs

Stop digging immediately if you uncover an unmarked line, smell gas, hear hissing, see bubbling water, encounter a damaged cable, or notice a sudden loss of utility service. Move people away from the area and avoid operating vehicles, electrical switches, tools, or other ignition sources near a suspected gas release.

For a natural gas emergency, contact the gas utility or emergency services from a safe location. For damaged water, sewer, electric, or communications infrastructure, notify the responsible utility and the City of Susanville when public facilities or streets may be affected. Do not attempt to repair a utility yourself.

If excavation exposes contaminated soil, sewage, or an unstable structure, keep the area isolated until qualified personnel provide direction. Document the location and condition of the damage, but place personal safety ahead of photographs or cleanup.

Make the safety check routine

A short pre-dig checklist keeps small home projects from becoming infrastructure emergencies. Complete these steps every time, even when the excavation is shallow or the property has been landscaped before:

• Mark the complete work area in white paint or flags.
• Contact 811 and wait for every response before digging.
• Identify private lines that public locators may not cover.
• Confirm permits, easements, and right-of-way requirements.
• Keep locate marks visible and expose utilities carefully by hand.

Before starting work, keep the locate ticket, utility contact information, permit documents, and emergency numbers accessible to everyone on the project. Recheck the marks after storms or delays, and renew the locate request when the work extends beyond the original ticket period.

Careful preparation protects your household, contractors, neighbors, and the public systems that serve Susanville. Use local Public Works resources for project requirements and contact the appropriate utility before disturbing soil near a marked facility. Plan the work, wait for verified markings, and proceed slowly once excavation begins.