It is important to know where underground utilities are buried before you begin a project.

That’s why April is Pennsylvania 811 Safe Digging Month.

On Thursday, Carbon County adopted a proclamation announcing the month, which is an initiative sponsored by Pennsylvania 811.

Pennsylvania 811 is a utility notification center designed to provide people with the information they need before they put shovel to dirt.

The system has been around for 50 years and provided just over 1 million excavation notifications in 2021 alone.

To use the service, all you have to do is call 811 at least three business days before digging.

A system provider will then connect the caller with the appropriate underground utility operators and will ensure no vital underground services are disrupted and no one is injured because of digging.

Operators will then visit the work site to mark the location of any underground utility lines and establish an 18-inch tolerance zone so work could safely be completed.

For more information on Pennsylvania 811, visit www.paonecall.org.