The Virginia Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act, or "Miss Utility Law", requires that Miss Utility be called 48 hours in advance of planned excavation work to allow time for marking, that the marks be respected and protected, and that excavation be completed carefully.

There is no charge for this service.

Failure to notify Miss Utility before you dig could make you liable for the cost of any repairs should you damage a utility service.

For your safety and to minimize disruptions to utility services you need to call Miss Utility to have any utility lines that might be in the area of your work marked so you can avoid damaging them or possibly injuring yourself. A representative from each utility company with service that might be affected by your work will mark the approximate location of their underground lines.

For more information, call "Miss Utility" at 811 or 1-800-552-7001, or visit http://www.va811.com.

Private Utility Lines

Private utility lines will not be marked. Private utility lines include the water pipe from the meter to the house or building and the sewer lateral from the property line to the house or building. The property owner is responsible for maintenance of these lines including repairs, sewer backups and locating prior to excavation.

Additional examples of private utility lines are :

• lawn irrigation systems
• underground invisible pet fence wires
• electric wires to serve lamp posts or out buildings.

What can you do if you need to locate private underground utilities on your property?

1. Contact a private utility locating service. Private locating services are not free, but they are the safest option.
2. Field verify on your private property:

• Sewer lateral: A potential way to locate your sewer lateral is to look for sewer clean outs from the property line to the building. Sewer clean outs are white pipe stubs in the ground with a metal or plastic cover. The underground sewer lateral typically can be located by following the sewer clean out caps in the yard

• Water line: The water line from the meter to the house is private property and the property owner's responsibility. A potential way to find the water line to the building is to locate the water meter cover and the point where the water line enters the building. The underground water line typically runs between these two points.