Planting, building, adding, or fixing anything outdoors? Illinois law requires you have underground utility lines on your property marked before you start digging. It’s a FREE service that could save you time, utility repair costs, and even your life.
Designate where you plan to dig on your property by pre-marking the area and communicate that information to JULIE. You may provide a clear and concise verbal or written description of your specific dig area when you submit your locate request to JULIE. Alternatively, you may physically identify the proposed excavation site using white paint, stakes or flags. Both methods indicate to underground utility line locators where they should focus on marking.
It’s easy…and it’s FREE. At least 2 days (not including the day of the notice) before you plan to start your digging project, submit a locate request to JULIE. You can contact JULIE online at any time…and avoid possible hold times…or you can call 811. But first, have the following information handy to speed up the process.
While the law requires you contact JULIE at least 2 days (not including the day of the notice) before you plan to start digging, don’t submit a locate request for work that’s more than 10 days in the future. Click here to view our handy locate request calendar that makes planning simple. Weekends and holidays are not considered days when scheduling, so be sure to check out the list of holidays here.
After you submit your locate request, you’ll receive a ticket—also known as a notice—from JULIE with specific details including a Dig Number, the underground utility companies notified of your project, and most importantly a start date and time. Once notified, underground utility company representatives will come to your property to locate buried utility lines and mark them with colored paint and flags. They may mark an All Clear with a painted OK or contact you if nothing is in conflict with your site. Make sure all underground utility companies listed on your ticket have responded to your locate request before you dig.
JULIE personnel are not locators and will not visit your property. Each underground utility company is responsible for marking its own lines.
Always use caution when digging. To be safe, dig at least 18 inches away from where underground utility lines are marked. If you must dig more closely, dig by hand with extra care. Contact the underground utility company, as well as JULIE, if you think you have struck or damaged an underground utility line. Never try to repair it yourself. In case of an emergency such as leaking gas or a cut electric cable, call 911 immediately.
Wondering if you need to contact JULIE before you dig? You do!
JULIE offers a self-service, no-cost option for professional excavators working in Illinois who want to enter and submit their own locate requests. Excavators must complete a free, one-hour webinar training course to use Remote Ticket Entry (RTE). Click here to learn more.
In addition, another helpful self-service program for excavators is the Remark-Extend-View (REV) tool.