Californians have made great strides to improve indoor water efficiency; however, outdoor water efficiency achieves much more water savings. Talk to an Expert Today | Weekdays 6AM - 6PM. Utility flags are placed to prevent any disturbances or accidents in the area as utility work is being carried out. ), Do You Need a Permit to Dig a Pond? Get exclusive, in-depth coverage of the University of North Texas athletics teams in this weekly newsletter. Also, most flags bear the name of the company that placed them, so you should be able to see the contact information. juan.betancourt@dentonrc.com, Beth Maries has churned up a new flavor, North of Ordinary, to represent Denton, By John Fields If the utility flags are not in place, workers can just dig and end up damaging underground lines. In most cases, it is illegal to tamper with these markings. Specifically, about these utility flags and markings - why are they on my yard? Small alcoves in exterior walls for utilities access? They show what's buried beneath them before the first shovel hits the ground. plug them and put some tire slime in the tire. (We Checked With the USPS). (Do This First)Continue, Well water offers many positive advantages, most importantly, fewer utility bills! Neighbors Keep on Putting Trash in My Garbage Can: What to Do? (Answer Inside), Does Windex or Fabuloso Kill Roaches? The flags wont be there for long. Utilities companies are good at scattering the stupid things all over the lawn.but don't come back to clean up their mess. I'm assuming my neighbor needed to dig and had the lines flagged. This repair in such situations involves sections of the utility line that pass through your yard. ; Green Sewer and drain lines. But if it happens to you, you should know that it means someone is planning to turn it into an excavation site. Avoid digging near buried utilities if possible. The blue flag marking indicates portable water lines and is not to be tampered with for any reason. How do I get utility lines marked on my property? Usually, the property deed comes with a utility easement, so that it remains valid and does not change even when the property has been sold or transferred. Just purchased my first house and I'm shocked at the little things that I just never knew or understood about daily life. Must wait three business days for a markout, begin digging within 10 business days, ticket expires in 45 business days. The markings are valid per their rules for 30 days. If you are unable to gather the information from the state 811, you can simply refer to the color of the flag. Children may also accidentally take those flags out. Privacy Policy. In most cases, you will be given compensation. Placing orange flags means companies should be careful about digging this area, especially when people are expecting a big game on TV. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Understanding your rights as a landowner is important so youll have knowledge on how to approach this issue, especially if you feel like your privacy has been violated. As someone who places these flags for a living, leave them there for as long as you can or until you're 100% sure the work is completed. Utility companies usually place flags to mark . This would help you know what kind of possible disruption the repair would cause to help you plan accordingly. Is it Illegal to Remove Utility Flags? Here are the different colors used in marking flags and what they mean: Red Electric power lines, cables, conduits, and lighting cables. Choose wisely! For more information, visit California811. To put it simply, an easement gives a company or individuals the right to legally use a landowners property for a specific purpose. (Try Doing This First)Continue, Are you looking for a way to add some personality to your mailbox? Children may also accidentally take those flags out. A pink utility flag indicates there is a temporary survey marking going on in the area. nitrosomonas converts They Do), Do Moths Come From Caterpillars? But, before, Read More Can I Put a Pool in My Front Yard? What do the different colors mean? However, waking up to utility flags scattered across your lawn and someone digging in your yard is another story entirely. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more! 3. Generally, flags should not be taken off. How are we as lawn people supposed to know how long the flags have been there?? The following facility members will mark their lines in either water soluble paint or flags. Can I remove the MISS DIG flags in my yard? But just because there are flags on your lawn it doesnt always mean the utility company is going to start digging up your yard. Utility operators mark any underground line that is directly in the way of construction, or even near it. State law requires contractors, utilities or individuals who plan to dig even a homeowner planting a tree to call 811 to come locate underground utilities in the work area. (The Official Answer), Is It Illegal to Leave Furniture on the Street? Generally speaking, you should not remove utility flags from your yard because they are meant to avoid disturbances, damage to utility lines, ensure safety during any repairs to utility lines. Is it possible to create a concave light? If you have blue flags, you can call the water company, and so on. I've read that it's illegal to remove them, and I should call 811 to find out more. The locators will mark your yard with paint or flags in various colors that indicate where utility lines are . Last month a dozen utility flags appeared on my front lawn, my neighbors front lawn and along our property line. Here's a key to the flags' colors: If flags are in your yard, please do not remove them, they may have a logo and/or the name of the utility that has placed it there. This happens all the time due to the use of easements. The other reason flags have appeared in your yard is because someone is planning to do work. These utility contractors are also responsible for removing locate flags and any other utility flags installed when necessary. However tempting it may be, one should not remove those flags. The short answer is yes, utility companies can dig up your yard and they can do so legally to gain access to pipelines and cables. They wont even wait for your approval to do the digging. Call the Utility Notification Center of Colorado at 1-800-922-1987. Do not disturb the markings enough to make them disappear. When you see a pink flag utility flag on your yard, then you should not worry at the moment because there would not be heavy equipment moving, digging, or excavating. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Its even more frustrating to see people come to your yard and put up flags without permission. Do Butterflies Like Hibiscus? Depending on the state youre in, there should be a law that prohibits any person from removing or tampering with utility flags. If not, they will inform you when they will be able to send over a check to cover the damage. Should I expect them to pay for the damages? This year alone they have flagged it 4 times.From the flags I can tell you there is 4 utility's running alone the state road. one of them has like 10 plugs crammed into the same big hole. The circuit was out for 3 hours. This color is used for communication systems, TV cables and alarm lines. Each color of paint/flag represents a unique type of underground utility. Mow your yard. Red flags - Red is the most common flag. This center will take care of communicating with your local utilities, who will send their people out to mark line locations. After calling 811: The One Call Center will contact the appropriate utility companies, and a trained technician will mark the location of underground facilities with colored flags, stakes or paint at no cost to you. You may also see a marking in the street or near a pole or structure with an arrow that says Call 811, Miss Utility, One Call, Dig Safe, UFPO, etc. The color of the flags are typically going to follow The American Public Works Association (APWA) Uniform Color Code. A utility company can dig in your yard without permission. If you see yellow flags across your yard, it means that there will be a planned work involving natural gas lines. The operator should be able to provide the name of the company or individual who requested the dig and their contact information. Before a power line is built, Duke Energy acquires easements . The mess they leave. They Do), Do Butterflies Like Roses? Manage Settings There are different laws regarding utility flags their role, mounting, and removal across different states. 5. The color codes are as follows: Proposed excavation will be marked in white, power lines will mark in red, gas lines will mark in yellow, all communication lines will mark in orange, water marks in blue, sewer marks in green and Purple is for Reclaimed Water, Irrigation and Slurry Lines. :laugh: when a construction site pops up on my properties, i will mow around the junk and tools, no trimming, i didnt quote all the debris in the mowing price. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. White flags usually mark the area where there is a proposed excavation. If the utility flags on your lawn do not have our logo imprinted on them, then we did not mark that utility and will not be able to provide any information regarding the flags or proposed work. How to show that an expression of a finite type must be one of the finitely many possible values? We won't share it with anyone else. This is so given the role they play to mark public utility lines and help protect these lines in that manner. Any paint markings aren't permanent and should fade over time. Can I remove the flags in my yard? How do I align things in the following tabular environment? Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The American Public Works Association (APWA) has color-coded all utilities so it's easy for those in the industry to immediately identify what utility is running where. It's not a slalom course, just don't mow the block the are demarcating. More importantly, its your responsibility to follow-up so dont be shy about it. This year they pulled into the drive and drove their trucks and equipment across the lawn at a angle to get to the NW corner. If you found blue flags, you can try your water company. Doing so could result in fines. Your electric power company, for example, usually has an easement to use the portion of your land on which its towers and lines sit. (Somewhat Deer Resistant), Do Deer Eat Hellebores? If so, when can I remove them? Stay up to date with all of the sports news coming out of Denton-area high schools. And as I said, I'd rather plug a sidewall than screw around with a leaking tube that has to have the bead broken, tire removed and the tube patched. Does a Propane Fire Pit Keep Mosquitoes Away? . Placing orange flags means companies should be careful about digging this area, especially when people are expecting a big game on TV. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Once you see little flags in your yard, you can start digging. A right of way is a type of easement or agreement that grants a utility the right to use, access or transit a piece of property. I've started a nice collection of them in the back of my truck. Many times, the individuals or companies who call in the Call 811 Ticket request to dig does not have all of the information needed to pin-point the locate technicians to the exact spot of the work. But it does not call for removal. You can get more details as to who requested the placement by calling the hotline. At Utility Locator, our company uses our own flag (see example) to delineate the lines we have marked out. We would advise that you do not remove the markings or flags. Green flags are put up to mark drain lines and sewers. As a result, they will give an estimate, which includes your property. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Construction workers do road repair near the intersection of Alice and Egan streets in June. For this, a professional may be called upon to handle it. Step two: Wait the required time . The APWA color code guide can tell you which colors indicate which type of utility. Can I remove utility flags in my yard? At the same time, you have to know where you should stand and when to comply to avoid embarrassing situations, such as calling the police for no valid reason. I had 811 mark my utility lines. While you cant really prevent a utility company from coming on your property, its good to know what theyre doing when they are there. I can just imagine the neighbors questioning what we're doing to the yard. But when I called 811 they directed me to the seller's listing agent before the home was sold, and she was at a loss as to what to tell me and told me to just remove them. Viewed 4k times. To children, those colorful flags could be very attractive. Accidental removal of the flags is inevitable. This will result in everyday inconveniences that can affect not only you but also other people in the community. Manage Settings The only person who should be removing them is the one responsible for the placement of the flags. Utility companies usually place flags to mark . A perfect example of a utility easement is when the power company is allowed to install electrical lines and erect utility poles to support them. Replace flags in original position. Before deciding, you want to remove utility flags on your property because you did not authorize them to be placed.