It’s important you know what’s under the ground before you begin digging for a project.

Without that knowledge, you may be putting yourself or your community in danger if you strike an underground electrical, water or other type of utility line.

Last week, the Carbon County commissioners adopted a proclamation naming April as “Pennsylvania 811 Safe Digging Month” in the county.

They welcomed Maria A. White, damage prevention liaison for Pennsylvania One Call System Inc., who accepted the proclamation.

“811 is the number that you call before you dig,” she said, adding that it’s the law in Pennsylvania before any project using any type of mechanical equipment begins.

“It’s a free call. You just mark in white where you’re going to dig and someone will come out and mark it (the utility lines).”

To illustrate the point, White directed people to look at the front of the county administration office in Jim Thorpe, which had several colored flag markers and spray paint on the sidewalk.

“What’s really cool is when you leave this building, you look to the right by the Carbon County sign and there’s all the colors on the ground. ... Green means sewer, blue is water, red is electric and yellow is gas.”

The flags at the county office are part of an upcoming project of installing a pier for the new pedestrian bridge connecting the upper employee lot to the administration building, Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said.

“They have got to know where to dig and where not to dig,” he said.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said that making the call is one of the most important things you can do because if you hit a line, it can “really cost you a lot.”

“It’s not good to hit an electric line with a metal pole ... or a gas line,” he said, again stressing that the call is free to homeowners. “It doesn’t hurt to call and it takes just a couple of days.”

The state picked the month of April for Safe Digging Month because as the seasons change and the weather warms, people begin to look at home projects.