Why Are There Flags and Paint Marks in My Yard?

​At some point in time, you’ve probably noticed small colored flags placed in your yard or around town. Sometimes the ground is also marked with different colors of paint. If you have these flags and paint in your yard, it means that someone in the area is planning to dig, and they have contacted Montana 811 to file a locate request. When someone files a locate request with Montana 811, we notify the facility operators who have underground utilities in the proposed excavation area. These facility operators dispatch locators to the site who mark the location of utilities with different colored flags and paint that correspond to specific utility types.

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IMAP: An Online Database Management System

Montana 811 would like to remind all facility operators to update and confirm their notification areas for their respective utility companies. Take some time early in 2018 to verify that all your company’s information in the Montana 811 system is up-to-date. Making sure your notification area database coverage and company contact information is correct will help prevent damages to your organization’s underground infrastructure.

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2018 Winter and Spring Educational Opportunities

Save February 7th-9th, 2018 for the 73rd Annual Montana Water Well Drillers Association (MWWDA) Convention and Trade Show! The MWWDA is an organization that “promotes, protects, and supports the interests of the water well industry to provide Montanans access to a safe and reliable water supply.”1 Attend the educational seminars during the annual convention and trade show to learn how to make your drilling procedures and business safer and better.

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White Marking in Winter

Planning an excavation project this winter? One important step that you should take before contacting Montana 811 is to white line your proposed excavation area. Montana Code Annotated Section 69-4-503 2(a) states: “Adequate information must allow the person completing the locate to determine the area where the proposed excavation will occur. The information may include but is not limited to marking the path of the proposed excavation with white paint, marking the path of the proposed excavation with white flagging, or other clear marking that allows a person to determine the path of the proposed excavation.”1 Doing so narrows the scope of the excavation area for location purposes.

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