JOLIET, Ill. — August 11, or 8-11, is the day Illinois utilities like Illinois American Water and Ameren Illinois remind residents to call “JULIE” before they dig.
“JULIE” stands for Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators. The non-profit group was established in the early 1970s to help keep everyone safe when digging.
Illinois American Water Spokesperson Karen Cotton explains why it’s important to make the call to 8-1-1 several days before you start digging.
“If folks don’t call 8-1-1 prior to digging, they could hit one of our water lines, and it wouldn’t just impact their house, their residence, but it could impact their entire neighborhood, or cause a safety issue for them or our team,” Cotton said.
Illinois residents are encouraged to call “JULIE” at 8-1-1 prior to any digging project like putting in a deck, or building any kind of structure, so that underground utility lines can be marked with flags, spray paint or both.
When calling 8-1-1, homeowners and their contractors are connected to the local 8-1-1 center, which notifies the appropriate utility companies of their intent to dig. Professional locators then arrive at the digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines.
For information about “JULIE” and 8-1-1 services, click HERE.
