EVERETT, Wash.-- Telephones silenced. 911 unavailable. Alarm systems knocked out. A new suspense movie? No, a cut cable.
It happens every summer when the weather turns warmer. Contractors and landscapers start digging and discover something unexpected -- buried utility cable that their equipment has accidentally severed.
Cut cables usually mean that communications services are out in the neighborhood or even in a wide area, affecting hundreds of homes and businesses.
This unpleasant surprise could be avoided if construction crews,
landscapers and homeowners dialed the Underground Utility Locator Hotline before starting a project that involves digging of any kind.
By calling the toll-free hotline, 1-800-424-5555, callers can arrange to have Verizon or other Washington utility companies visit their sites to mark the location of buried telephone cables, wires and pipes. The hotline is available 24 hours a day.
"Every year, area residents have their telephone service needlessly interrupted because someone didn't call before starting a construction project, even those as simple as digging a post hole for a fence," said Vickie Curry, Verizon's director customer operations for the Northwest.
"The Underground Utility Locator Hotline is the surest and safest way to avoid damaging underground cables and interrupting telephone service."
A severed cable can be costly to the person or company responsible for causing the damage, and even more hurtful to someone who needs to make an emergency call but can't because the phone line is cut, said Curry.
Verizon advises customers and construction crews that they must provide utility companies with advance notice of at least two business days before beginning any household chore or commercial project that involves digging.
Anyone who fails to comply could be liable for repair costs, if any, or civil penalties as allowed by law.
Buried telephone cables frequently run along the shoulder of the road or along the edges of property. Cables that provide service to a specific residence or business often run directly through the lot.