If you or someone you've hired is going to install an irrigation system, plant a tree or do anything else that requires digging, be sure to call 811 at least two business days before starting the project. We'll come out and mark the underground lines for free. For more information, visit California811.
Call 811 at least two business days before you dig—the service is free.
Identify and mark your digging area with a white substance such as chalk, spray paint, flour or marking whiskers, tags, stakes or any combination.
PG&E and other companies will use colored utility flags, stakes or paint to mark underground lines following the American Public Works Association Uniform Color Code (PDF, 22 KB). Please leave the marks in place until you are finished digging. The marks are valid for 28 days.
Only use hand digging tools, such as shovels, within the 24-inch zone. After finishing your project, carefully backfill and compact the soil.
To submit an online request, please visit Underground Service Alert North.
Please report any signs of a gas leak immediately. Your awareness and action can improve the safety of your home and community.
We add a distinctive, sulfur-like, rotten egg odor so you can detect even small amounts of natural gas. However, DO NOT rely only on your sense of smell to detect the presence of natural gas.
Some people may not be able to smell the odor due to a diminished sense of smell, olfactory fatigue (normal, temporary inability to distinguish an odor after prolonged exposure), or because it is masked or hidden by other odors that are present. Also, certain conditions in the pipe and soil can cause odor fade—the loss of odorant so that it is not detectable by smell.
Pay attention to hissing, whistling or roaring sounds coming from underground or from a gas appliance.
Be aware of dirt spraying into the air; continual bubbling in a pond, creek, puddle or other source of standing water; as well as dead or dying vegetation in an otherwise moist area.