Virginia 811, Ace Hardware team up for Safe Digging Month | Home & Garden | roanoke.com

2022-04-21 09:29:46 By : Ms. Kyra Yu

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For the second year in a row, Virginia Ace Hardware stores and Virginia 811 have announced plans to partner for a special sweepstakes during National Safe Digging Month.

During the month of April, the Ace Your Outdoor Space Sweepstakes gives all Virginians an opportunity to enter to win one of four $1,000 Ace Hardware gift cards. The contest is designed to help Virginians make their outdoor spaces memorable, comfortable and summer-ready while also being safe.

Each April, National Safe Digging Month serves as an important reminder to contact Virginia 811 before you dig for any landscape or home-improvement project. Whether a homeowner with a shovel or a professional excavator using mechanized equipment, contacting Virginia 811 before you dig is vital to safety.

It is often a surprise to homeowners that even simple projects like installing a mailbox can be dangerous and disruptive when digging without knowing where underground utility lines – such as electric, communications, natural gas, water and sewer – are located. Knowing where these underground utility lines are before putting a shovel in the dirt helps prevent injuries, property damage and inconvenient service outages.

“We are excited to partner with Virginia Ace Hardware stores again this year,” said Scott Crawford, president and CEO of Virginia 811. “It’s a natural partnership in that we both share a passion to serve locally to help Virginians complete projects safely and efficiently. The opportunity to partner together to educate homeowners on the importance of contacting 811 before they start their outdoor project is invaluable.”

There are three ways to enter the Virginia 811/Ace Hardware sweepstakes:

Visit va811.com/april-sweepstakes/and complete the online form.

Visit a participating ACE Hardware store and scan the QR code on the bottom right corner of the counter card, which will open the contest page.

Mail in contact information (name, age, email, address, phone number) to Virginia 811, ACE Sweepstakes, 1830 Blue Hills Circle, Roanoke, Virginia, 24012.

Contacting Virginia 811 before digging on any property is the law. Virginia 811 is conveniently accessible 24/7 online at VA811.com. Entering an online ticket is quick and free of charge. Virginia 811 can also be reached by dialing 8-1-1. Once a ticket is entered, utility companies are notified and dispatch their locators to the digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground lines. These markings are generally done with spray paint, and specific colors indicate the types of utilities marked.

Virginia 811 urges everyone to Dig with CARE:

Contact Virginia 811 before you dig. Always notify Virginia 811 prior to starting your project to have a dig site marked.

Allow the required time for markings. Locators will come out and mark your property to indicate where your underground utilities are located. Wait at least three working days before you begin digging so that all utilities have a chance to be located and marked.

Respect the marks. Once the lines are marked, do not destroy them.

Excavate carefully. Marks made near the dig site indicate the approximate location of the underground utilities. Hand-dig within 2 feet of these marked lines. Once the line is exposed, do not use mechanized equipment within 2 feet of the line.

Virginia Utility Protection Service, commonly called Virginia 811, is the not-for-profit organization created by Virginia’s utilities to protect their underground facilities. Find more information and safe digging practices at VA811.com.

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