November is Safe Digging Month and Council is encouraging contractors to check before they dig to avoid striking water pipes, power cables and other essential infrastructure.

The location of Council’s wastewater, drinking water, stormwater pipes and other infrastructure is available online on beforeUdig, along with Chorus cables and EA Networks electricity and fibreoptic lines.

Contractors can make a request via the beforeUdig website and they will be sent maps and information on the location of underground assets in and around the site, protecting themselves and the communities who use the assets.

Council Infrastructure Services Group Manager Neil McCann said Council received an average of 120 location requests a month via beforeUdig.

“It’s good to see our contractors using the service as digging up a pipe or other essential cable could not only be dangerous, but expensive to fix. It’s a good tool that they should take advantage of.

“Council and ratepayers have spent a lot of money developing underground services and we all need to look after them.”

BeforeUdig is supporting the inaugural Safe Digging Month and said the safety campaign was designed to engage with the civil construction industry, small to medium size contractors and the public by promoting safe digging practices to avoid damaging important network cables and pipes.

Each year around 15 people suffer life-changing injuries or worse, after coming into contact with electricity or gas. On top of that, major inconvenience can be brought to homes and business with the loss of key services following a strike to underground cables or pipes when digging.

Whenever you are digging, no matter if your job is big or small, you must follow the five key rules of safe digging in order to avoid striking and damaging an underground cable or pipe.

Anyone excavating needs to plan, prepare, investigate and protect before proceeding with the job.

You can download a simple guide to safety and lodge your enquiry for free at www.beforeudig.co.nz