Virginia 81 (VA811) is the organization that coordinates the marking of utility lines to prevent them from being damaged by excavation or demolition work. Virginia’s Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act requires that everyone, including homeowners, must call Miss Utility (Dial 811 in Virginia, or 1-800-552-7001) 48 hours before performing the work. After 48 hours, a second call must be made to VA811's Ticket Information Exchange (TIE) to determine whether all utilities have reported their lines either marked or clear. An additional 24-hours could be required for all locations to be reported.
To learn more about VA811, visit their online educational tool - the Virginia811 Academy.
Although we work with VA811 to prevent damage to our water lines, we do not mark the private water lines that extend beyond our valves (or meters) near the street where individual services begin.
Click here to learn more about VA811.
To learn more about what the markings mean, click here.