Crockett County Public Utility District

Today, More and more of the utility companies that supply your home with power, heat, water, telephone, sewer, gas, and cable television services are delivering those services underground.  It’s also possible that these buried service lines are close to the surface, making digging a dangerous proposition.  Fortunately, you can find out where utility owned lines are buried on your property with one free call to Tennessee811. When you make that one call, we will notify our member utility companies of your project and will locate their lines free of charge.

Call 811 or 1-800-351-1111 before you dig.  During your call, you will be asked a series of questions designed to help pinpoint the location of your project.

At the conclusion of your call, you will be given a ticket number and a verbal list of utility companies that will be notified.  This doesn’t mean each member listed owns buried utilities on your property, or that every utility is a member of Tennessee811. You may want to write down the names of the utility companies for easy reference.

Respect The Marks

Wait until the underground facilities have been marked before digging.  The underground facilities on your property will be identified by color coded paint, stakes, or flags. Once the stakes, flags or paint marks have been placed, it is important that no one remove them until the project is complete.  You may want to explain to young children that the brightly colored flags are not toys and should not be removed from the ground.

Dig Safely

After you wait the required time, you may begin your work.  However, if all utility companies have not located their buried lines, Tennessee law requires you make a second call to Tennessee 811 to advise that the utility or utilities have not marked their lines.  After the second call, you may proceed with your project using care and caution trying not to damage unmarked lines.

What do I do if I damage the underground facility?

The underground facility can be damaged by any piece of equipment used for digging. Something as simple as a shovel can gouge, scrape, dent or crease the casing that surrounds a buried utility line. While this type of damage usually does not cause immediate harm, it may lead to a future break or leak as the protective coating erodes.  If this should happen to you, do not cover up the line with dirt. Stop digging, immediately contact the utility owner so they can repair the damage.  It could prevent service interruptions and personal injury.

What happens if I don’t call before I dig?

If you do not find out where it is safe to dig in your yard, it is quite possible you will find a buried utility and potentially create a life treating situation.  Damaging a telephone of fiber optic line may not only cause you inconvenience by losing your phone, cable, or internet service, but it could deprive your neighbors of emergency assistance.  This could also make it impossible for police officers to get the information they need to keep themselves and your community safe. Damaging gas lines could result in you or your home suffering serious injury if escaping gas ignites, and it could result in community evacuation. Damaging an electric line could cause a shock, major burns, or electrocution.

How do I know where it’s safe to dig?

The safety zone is a strip of land the width of the utility, plus 24” on either side.   If digging must occur within this safety zone, please use extreme caution, and dig with a hand shovel.

The color code chart serves as a guide to help you determine which utilities have marked their underground lines.

Crockett Public Utility District is required by the US Department of Transportation to inform our customers of their right to request an Excess Flow Valve (EFV) to be installed on qualified natural gas service lines. EFV’s are mechanical shut off devices that can be installed in the gas piping running to the gas meter at your property (the “service line”). An EFV is designed to shut off the flow of natural gas automatically in the event the gas service line breaks or is damaged by outside forces.

Crockett Public Utility District will install and maintain EFVs on new or replacement gas service lines servicing single family dwellings, and commercial customers where the anticipated load is 1000 cubic feet per hour or less. The EFV selection will generally be based on line size, line length, load requirements, line operating pressure, and other operating factors. The location of the EFV will normally be as close to the tap tee, or source of supply as possible. The exception being mid service line repairs where the tap or main is not exposed, or branch services where two single family dwellings share one EFV. Service Lines installed to single family dwellings, or commercial customers that operate at a pressure less than 10 psig will not have an excess flow valve installed.

Crockett Public Utility District will also install and maintain EFV on existing family dwellings and small commercial business service lines at the customer’s request. The cost of the installation will 500.00 per service. A customer requesting the installation of an EFV must apply in writing and pay for the installation prior to start of work. The installation date will be determined based on current work load, weather conditions, and other factors.

Customer Owned Piping

Crockett Public Utility District assumes no liability for piping past our meter. The customer must agree to install and maintain at his or her expense all gas service pipes from the District’s meter to the subscriber’s premises subject to the District’s Rules and Regulations. The District has no duty to inspect or maintain service pipes, connections, equipment, or appliances located on the subscriber’s premises beyond the District’s meter. Buried gas piping should be periodically
inspected for leaks; periodically inspected for corrosion if the piping is metallic, and repaired if any unsafe condition is discovered. When excavating near buried gas piping, the piping should be located in advance, and the excavation done by hand. Plumbing contractors, and heating contractors can assist in locating, inspecting, and repairing the customer’s buried piping. 

Crockett Public Utility District reserves the right to change this policy as needed.