Digging Safety for Contractors

Locates are colour-coded ground markings identifying the approximate position of underground lines and cables on a proposed job site. They’re made using temporary paint or flags and are always accompanied by a locate sheet that maps out where lines are buried in relation to fixed objects such as poles, buildings or sidewalks.

By law, a locate is required any time you’re breaking ground on a project.

Whatever company is completing the excavation is responsible for obtaining locates, regardless of who owns the property or who contracted out the work. If there are multiple excavators working on one site, you may add multiple company names to the locate request.

To get a free locate, submit your request via the Ontario One Call contractor portal at OntarioOneCall.ca or call 1-800-400-2255.

Ontario One Call will notify all owners of buried infrastructure on your behalf. These include electric, water, sewage and natural gas utilities, as well as telecommunication companies.

Utility locates are a free service. There’s no cost to you. Any privately owned infrastructure, such as a gas line that runs from a meter to a pool heater or barbecue, won’t be covered under the Ontario One Call request. A private locate company will need to be hired to mark these lines and there is a charge for this service.

A utility locate request must be made no less than five business days prior to the planned start date of your project. By law, you must have both paint markings and your locate sheet finalized before starting any work.

You’ll need to provide Ontario One Call with your company name and address, your client’s information, your dig location, project start date, a description of the project, the type of project being completed, how you plan to dig (shovel, excavator, etc.) and how deep you plan to dig.

A qualified utility representative will visit your job site and mark the location of all underground cables and pipes. They do this by painting or inserting flags in the ground along the path of the pipe or cable. They’ll also provide accompanying paperwork and locate drawings so you can verify that the ground markings match the information provided in the drawings.

You can check the status of your request on the Ontario One Call web portal. Owners of buried infrastructure will mark the status of their lines as either “clear” or “complete.” A clear status means there’s no risk and that your proposed digging area is safe. A complete status means the locate has been marked on your job site. All utilities must be marked as either clear or complete to proceed.

The actual location of the buried line may be within 1 metre on either side of the paint or locate flags placed on your job site. This is referred to as the tolerance zone. When digging in the tolerance zone, you must first use a shovel or hydrovac to expose any hidden pipes before using machinery.

If there is any doubt about the location of underground natural gas lines, contact Enbridge Gas as soon as possible. A member of the Damage Prevention team will come out to the site to verify the position of the locates and provide you with the information you need to excavate safely. This is a free service.

Moving or removing locates makes them invalid and you’ll be liable for any damage that occurs. You must call Ontario One Call to arrange a new locate before you start excavating.

An Enbridge Gas locate is valid for 60 days from the date that the locate was completed. If you have not finished excavating within those 60 days, a new locate is required.

Yes, if you damage an underground utility as a result of not following safe excavation guidelines on the job site, you’ll be responsible for the full cost of labour and materials to repair the infrastructure and could incur additional penalties and serious charges.

If you smell rotten eggs, hear an unusual hissing sound, or see dust or leaves blowing in a localized area, you may have damaged a natural gas line. You may also see a physical puncture or gouge on the line.

If you think you’ve hit a natural gas line, stop work immediately and shut off all equipment to avoid ignition. Do not attempt to control the release of gas yourself. Evacuate the job site and surrounding area, call 911 from a safe distance away and contact Enbridge Gas immediately at 1-866-763-5427.