Common Ground Alliance’s 2011 DIRT Report Confirms Importance of Calling 811 Before Digging in Damage Prevention Process
WASHINGTON (Sept. 13, 2012) – Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the stakeholder-run organization dedicated to protecting underground utility lines and the people who dig near them, today announced findings from its comprehensive 2011 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) Report.
The report, which is the sum of all 2011 data submitted anonymously and voluntarily by damage prevention stakeholders, confirmed the importance of making a free call to 811 to reach a local one call center as most critical to safety.
When an excavator notifies a one call center before digging, damage occurs less than 1 percent of the time, according to the report. The report also estimates the total number of damages could be reduced by 31 percent if all digging was preceded by a locate request.