Know Where Your Utilities are Before You Plant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2009

Most planting and landscape improvement projects are done in the spring to early summer months. Depending on conditions and weather, it can often end up being a hurried process, particularly when landscaping outdoor entertainment areas for upcoming events, and trying to get plants in the ground early so that they can become well-established before the worst of summer heat arrives.

Regardless of the pace or need to finish quickly, before you begin digging and planting, one of the most important but often over-looked activities is locating, and being aware of the various underground utilities that serve your home. Not knowing where utilities are located can at a minimum result in short-term loss of services and inconvenience, but also extra expense for repairs. More importantly, potential injury or loss of life, particularly with buried electrical and gas lines, can occur when they are damaged.

Today's average home not only has electrical, phone and gas service to consider, but also internet, satellite dish and cable TV, city or rural water, or private well water services, and septic lines. Additional phone and electrical lines may be connecting out-buildings such as sheds and barns, and outdoor pole lights. For some homes, outdoor installed wood burning furnaces have underground circulating water pipes entering homes. Underground irrigation systems, and exterior landscape lighting should also be taken into account.

Though some utilities are above-ground and visible, the majority are buried services into homes. In general, any planting of shrubs or trees in the soil immediately above or next to underground lines should be avoided. Also, always remember when above ground utility lines are present, to limit the below landscaping to turf, groundcovers or low-growing shrubs. Most medium to large trees will eventually reach tall lines, and even some "small" tree species can reach heights of 10 to 15 feet.

One of the best free services to Illinois homeowners is access to the "JULIE" utilities locating service. JULIE stands for "Joint Utilities Locating Information for Excavators". With a call to JULIE, their local cooperating utility partners are notified of your digging project, and will come to your property to locate and mark underground utility services. Usually this is done within 48 hours of initial notification. Locators will mark the location of public utilities, but will not mark private utilities such as water well services or supplemental cable or internet lines ran between buildings by the home owner.

Utility companies can also be contacted and notified directly by the homeowner. Some companies such as LP gas tank services may not be in the JULIE network and may need to be contacted directly. Prior to buying a home, it is always a good idea to confer with the owner about other potential privately managed services on the property.

JULIE is a statewide service, except for the Chicago area. It can be reached by calling the toll-free number: 1-800-892-0123. In the Chicago region, the Chicago Utility Alert Network (Chicago Digger) can be notified at 312-744-7000. JULIE also has a website in which this service to homeowners is explained in more detail: www.illinois1call.com.