Easy, Free, Painless: Contact 811 Before Digging

April showers brings May yard work and garden projects. However, it is important to remember to do a safety check before digging.

Chad Previch with Oklahoma Natural Gas recommends calling 811 or going to okie811.org before starting any projects that involve digging.

"April is typically the time that people will go out and start doing their projects in their yards because the weather is typically starts to get to get nice," Previch said. "Well, before you do that, you need to contact 811."

811 is a free number and service.

"That way somebody will come out, they'll mark your yard with these type of flags," Previch said. "That guarantees that you'll have a nice uh safe project to enjoy for years to come."

You never know what you could hit by accident, Previch says.

“You don't know what's underneath your yard. It's a mystery,” Previch said. “So, even if you've lived in your house for years and years and years, there could be natural gas lines. That's what the yellow flags are for. Electric lines, cable lines, the city water lines, you just don't know.”

Contact 811 at least 48 hours before starting your project, excluding weekends and holidays, Previch said. The service does not require you to be home at any particular time, either.

“You don't even have to be home. You'll come home from work and your lines will be marked and then go online and make sure that the people have actually come out and marked your lines,” Previch said.