August 11 (8/11) Serves as A Reminder to Call 8-1-1 Before Digging

JOLIET, Ill., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- August 11 (8/11) serves as a natural reminder for homeowners and professional contractors in Illinois to simply call JULIE, Inc. (JULIE) at 8-1-1 prior to any type of digging project to avoid personal injury and repair costs and to keep communities free of utility damage and inconvenient outages. This is a free service.

A recent report released by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) indicated an underground utility line is damaged during digging projects once every three minutes in the United States. The same report found that 34 percent of underground utility lines are damaged because this free 8-1-1 call to state one-call systems, such as JULIE in Illinois, was never made.

"On August 11 and throughout the year, we remind homeowners and contractors to call 8-1-1 to ensure that the approximate location of underground utility lines are marked by professional locators from member utility companies with flags or spray paint," said Kevin Chmura, director of public relations for JULIE, Inc. "There is no reason to take a chance when it comes to safety. Every project, regardless of the depth or size, requires a call to JULIE at least two working days before digging."

Common types of projects that require notifying JULIE include, but are not limited to, planting trees or shrubs; putting up a fence; installing a swing set, a mail box post or water feature such as a pool, pond or fountain; building a deck; or preparing a new garden or landscape area.

JULIE's helpful call center agents are available to receive and process requests 24 hours a day, seven days a week at either 8-1-1 or 800-892-0123. E-Request is also a popular, new option for homeowners who prefer to enter their own utility locate requests via www.illinois1call.com.

Based in Joliet, the not-for-profit organization represents 1,780 members and annually receives 1 million locate requests. Because one call to JULIE results in communication with multiple member utility companies, notifications to JULIE, Inc. last year resulted in 5.8 million messages being transmitted to members. JULIE neither owns nor marks any underground lines.

Visit www.illinois1call.com for more information about JULIE and safe digging practices.

SOURCE JULIE, Inc.