Common Ground Alliance's 2010 DIRT Report Reveals Importance of Calling 811 Before Digging

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Common Ground Alliance, the stakeholder-run organization focused on protecting underground utility lines and the people who dig near them, announced findings from its comprehensive 2010 Damage Information Reporting Tool Report. The report, which is the sum of all 2010 data submitted anonymously and voluntarily by damage prevention stakeholders, identified 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 30 percent if all digging was preceded by a locate request.

“As we approach the five-year anniversary of 811 serving as the best way for all excavators nationwide to reach their local one call center, it's reaffirming to see data that supports what many CGA members have long believed: Knowing what's below by calling 811 before digging is the most important step in preventing underground utility incidents,” said Bob Kipp, CGA president.

Overall, underground utility events continue to be a major problem, with 165,000 incidents estimated in the United States in 2010. The number of incidents in 2010 was relatively similar to that of the past several years, and it continues to pose a threat to safety. The 2010 DIRT Report examined the root causes of slightly more than half of all events submitted, and the top causes were identified as follows:

> Excavation practices not sufficient: 38 percent
> Notification not made: 32 percent
> Locating practices not sufficient: 25 percent

The report also noted that small fencing, irrigation and landscaping contractors were most often involved in incidents resulting from a failure to notify a one call center before digging.

Since 2008, the number of incidents submitted to DIRT has declined, possibly due to economic factors affecting the amount of work performed. To create a baseline figure that accounts for changes in excavation activity and tracks year-to-year progress, this year's report features an increased emphasis on measuring damages per 1,000 one call center requests.

The 2010 DIRT Report benefited from inbound locate request data from 31 one call centers. Comparing this one call data to incident data submitted for those states in 2010, CGA determined an average of 3.2 incidents occurred per 1,000 locate requests last year.

“One of the most important things we can do on the CGA Data Reporting and Evaluation Committee is to make sure we are creating a report that will be helpful to both the industry at large and individual stakeholder organizations,” said Bob Terjesen, Committee Co-Chair. “Our hope is that stakeholders use this report to improve their own data collection effort and better target their damage prevention initiatives.”

The complete DIRT Annual Report for 2010 is available for download at www.commongroundalliance.com, and stakeholders interested in submitting data to the 2011 report or establishing a Virtual Private Dirt account should visit the DIRT site at www.cga-dirt.com.

About CGA
CGA is a member-driven association of nearly 1,400 individuals, organizations and sponsors in every facet of the underground utility industry. Established in 2000, CGA is committed to saving lives and preventing damage to North American underground infrastructure by promoting effective damage prevention practices. CGA has established itself as the leading organization in an effort to reduce damages to underground facilities in North America through shared responsibility among all stakeholders. For more information, visit CGA on the web at www.commongroundalliance.com.