Underground service alert marking example

Underground Service Alert (USA) is a non-profit mutual benefit organization that links the excavation community and the owners of underground lines. Underground Service Alert has two separate call centers for

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

: Underground Service Alert of Northern California (USA North) and Underground Service Alert of Southern California (USA South, aka DigAlert). Although they are not affiliated and are run by separate boards of directors, they share the common goal of safe digging. USA North handles Northern and Central California as well as

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. DigAlert handles nine Southern California counties. Calls to either center are free for all homeowners, excavators and professional contractors who are

digging Digging, also referred to as excavation, is the process of using some implement such as claws, hands, manual tools or heavy equipment, to remove material from a solid surface, usually soil, sand or rock on the surface of Earth. Digging is actual ...

, blasting,

trench A trench is a type of digging, excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale (landform), swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or trapping ...

ing,

drilling Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross section (geometry), cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary Cutting tool (machining), cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit i ...

, grading, excavating, or otherwise moving any earth. USA began operation in 1976 and incorporated as a

mutual-benefit nonprofit corporation A mutual-benefit nonprofit corporation or membership corporation is a type of nonprofit corporation in the US, similar to other mutual benefit organizations found in some of common law nations, chartered by government with a mandate to serve the mut ...

in 1986. USA receives planned excavation reports from public and private excavators and transmits those reports to participating members of USA. USA members include private companies and public agencies that have underground lines or facilities. The USA members will either mark or stake their facility, provide information or give clearance to dig.

References

External links

Underground Service Alert of Northern CaliforniaUnderground Service Alert of Southern CaliforniaAll one-call agencies by state
{{authority control Public utilities of the United States Subterranea of the United States Non-profit organizations based in California

See also

References

Further reading

External links