Page 18 - Louisiana 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 2

There is No Way This Could Happen, or Not!
Imagine that I arrived in Baton Rouge just before sundown and having never been there before, I stopped at a convenience store. I looked around and saw someone who looked like he knew his way around town, and I asked him, “Hey, could
you tell me if there is a 136 Blue Bayou Street somewhere in the city?” “Could be, but I’ve never heard of it,” might be the reply as he turned to walk away. He stopped and said, “They sell street maps inside the store. One sure way to find this place would be to go in there and buy a map or at least ask them if they’ll let you look at one.”
“Nah, that’s alright,” I said, “I’ll just drive around town and see if I can find it.” I don’t know the odds of me finding the address (even if there is one) but I’m guessing it is about the same odds of
getting struck twice by lightning in the same storm.
Now that sounds like a ridiculous story, don’t it? Do you think that kind of logic would even exist? I don’t know but it seems like I experience it regularly.
Arriving at the location and having never dug there before, the backhoe was unloaded from the trailer, he looked around and ask one of the guys, “You ever been here before? Do you suppose there are any buried utility lines here?” “There probably is because there are
so much buried lines in right-of-ways anymore, but I really don’t know and
if I knew, I wouldn’t have a clue where they’re located,” he’d say. He could then stop and say, “One sure way to know
if there are any underground utility lines is to call 811. It’s a free call and at least we’d know the deal.” “No, that’s
alright,” he said. “I’ll just start digging to see what I can find and trust me, I’ll be careful.”
One of the many roles in the damage prevention world I’ve been privileged to accept is working with the Mississippi Underground Facilities Enforcement Board. Hundreds of violations have been reported during the past three years and almost 20% of the violations are the result of an invalid or no locate request. I heard many reasons why this happens, but whether it is the result of supposed time management, didn’t know
better or just bad habits; damages to underground utility lines are often the result of such logic. I find similar results in other surrounding states. For whatever reason just knowing
we ought to call is not the same as
16 • Louisiana 811
2021, Issue 2
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