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Call Before You Dig
Tennessee State Law requires anyone about to engage in digging, excavation, moving of earth, demolition, or any type of activity that could damage underground utility lines to notify the utility companies in that area of their intent to dig not less than three business days before the work is to begin. The system, Tennessee 811, was created to provide advance notification service to member utilities, such as the City of Alcoa, throughout the state.
You can reach Alcoa and other member utilities who provide electric, gas, water, wastewater, phone, cable, etc. with one call to Tennessee 811 at 1 800-351-1111 or by just dialing 811.
Tennessee 811 will gather information from you about your planned work and send it to member utilities in the area where you plan to dig. Alcoa and other member utilities will then locate their facilities at the proposed excavation site with paint or flags so you can avoid them during excavation. There is no charge to contact Tennessee 811 or for Alcoa to locate its underground facilities. Dig safely by calling Tennessee 811 at 1 800-351-1111 or 811, three business days before you plan to dig. Then, wait for Alcoa to mark their lines. Respect the markings and dig with care. Tennessee 811 operates 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.
Always use extreme caution when you dig and avoid digging within the utility safety zone. The safety zone is a strip of land the width of the utility plus two feet on either side. Utilities that will be marked include city-owned electric primary and secondary lines, water mains, wastewater mains, traffic signal detection loops and conduit, fiber optic lines and city street light circuits.
Customer-owned buried lines will not be marked. These include sewer laterals, underground electrical service lines, water service lines, private lighting circuits, invisible fencing, irrigation systems and other customer-owned lines.
Those utilities marked by dotted lines are typically owned and maintained by the customer and will not be marked by Alcoa personnel. These are usually found on the customer’s property outside of the road right-of-way (ROW). Other customer-owned facilities (irrigation, drain fields, dog fences, etc.) could be located anywhere on the property. The customer may contract with a private locating service who will mark these for a fee.
About Tennessee 811
You can reach Alcoa and other member utilities who provide electric, gas, water, wastewater, phone, cable, etc. with one call to Tennessee 811 at 1 800-351-1111 or by just dialing 811.
Tennessee 811 will gather information from you about your planned work and send it to member utilities in the area where you plan to dig. Alcoa and other member utilities will then locate their facilities at the proposed excavation site with paint or flags so you can avoid them during excavation. There is no charge to contact Tennessee 811 or for Alcoa to locate its underground facilities. Dig safely by calling Tennessee 811 at 1 800-351-1111 or 811, three business days before you plan to dig. Then, wait for Alcoa to mark their lines. Respect the markings and dig with care. Tennessee 811 operates 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.
Use Caution
Always use extreme caution when you dig and avoid digging within the utility safety zone. The safety zone is a strip of land the width of the utility plus two feet on either side. Utilities that will be marked include city-owned electric primary and secondary lines, water mains, wastewater mains, traffic signal detection loops and conduit, fiber optic lines and city street light circuits.
Customer-owned buried lines will not be marked. These include sewer laterals, underground electrical service lines, water service lines, private lighting circuits, invisible fencing, irrigation systems and other customer-owned lines.
Those utilities marked by dotted lines are typically owned and maintained by the customer and will not be marked by Alcoa personnel. These are usually found on the customer’s property outside of the road right-of-way (ROW). Other customer-owned facilities (irrigation, drain fields, dog fences, etc.) could be located anywhere on the property. The customer may contract with a private locating service who will mark these for a fee.
Reporting Damaged Lines
To report damage to an Alcoa utility line, call 865-380-4700 during normal business hours. During after hours, call 865-380-4890 for electric lines and 865-983-3911 for water or sanitary sewer lines.