Tips For Staying Safe During Storm Clean-Up

Heavy rains, strong winds and tornadoes can wreak havoc not only on property, but also on underground utility lines that carry gas, electricity, water, fiber optics, communications, and more. Striking even a single buried utility line can create a critical service outage, cause environmental damage, precipitate costly delays to restoration efforts, and lead to personal injury. Don’t take chances when it comes to safety during storm clean-up. Always use extreme caution when assessing and repairing storm damage. Never remove a tree, fence post or do anything that requires digging without contacting JULIE first. The service is free to homeowners and professional excavators.

What To Do If You Have Storm Damage

When piling up debris, don’t place items in front of, around, or on top of known areas of utilities. If you don’t know what lies below, contact JULE to request utilities come out and locate their underground lines. Also avoid any above-ground structures such as meters and pedestals that provide gas, power, communication, or water capabilities.

Local utilities often find their resources stretched thin during restoration efforts, which may impact the response time to locate their underground infrastructure. Illinois law requires anyone digging notify JULIE at least two business days before starting excavation. When performing storm clean-up, provide additional advance notice if you can to give utility locators ample time to respond. If possible, postpone nonessential excavation and demolition projects in areas impacted by storm damage.

When assessing storm damage, if you observe a disturbance of any kind to an underground line, contact the utility company directly. If you notice damage to dangerous or hazardous lines, call 911. If you suspect a gas leak because you either smell the distinct natural gas odor or hear a hissing or whistling sound, or if you see dead vegetation or bubbles near a gas line, vacate the area immediately and call 911.

Keep yourself and your community safe not just during—but also after—storm clean-up. State law requires that any digging project begin within 14 days of receiving a dig start date from JULIE. Locate requests are valid for 28 days so if repairs or rebuilding from storm damage occur beyond the expiration date, you must contact JULIE again. Also remember that underground utility line depth varies, and multiple utility lines may be buried in one area. The risk of striking one exists even when digging only a few inches, so always contact JULIE before you dig.

Storm damage from heavy rains, strong winds and tornadoes can ravage the community. Help prevent additional devastation, personal injury and accidental utility line damage by contacting Julie before you dig during storm clean-up.