Has Call 811 left you high and dry, or worse - on the receiving end of a utility strike or near miss? Two recent studies say the national utility locating system is riddled with $61 billion in waste and significant process flaws, including inaccurate line marking and slow response times.
The recent study commissioned by the Infrastructure Protection Coalition took an in-depth look at 811 operations in every state and Washington D.C. and found the waste and excess costs are creating unnecessary hazards for public safety.
The worst offenders - Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia - account for more than 20 percent of the national waste due to lax policies and procedures. In some instances, states did not even require mandatory reporting of damage to utility lines.
Waste and cost overruns largely were caused by:
A separate survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America had similarly alarming results. Ninety-nine percent of contractors surveyed were familiar with the 811 system and the requirements before excavating, but 73 percent reported weaknesses in the 811 processes.
Respondents cited the lack of accurate utility locating by utility owners and operators as the biggest problem. In addition, 56 percent of firms with concerns about the 811 system said slow utility owner and operator response times were a significant weakness.
