One-Call Will Help Protect Underground Utilities

The Town of Clayton has joined the national One-Call utility location service, making it easier for builders and others to avoid damaging the town's underground utilities when they dig here.

The service will automatically notify the Public Works Department whenever anyone plans to dig. Before this week, builders and others had to call the Public Works Department directly and, oftentimes, those calls never came. Since state law mandates that builders and others notify One-Call prior to any digging, the town should be protected from those types of service disruptions in the future, said Public Works and Utility Director Tim Simpson.

“This is a pretty big step for us in our goal to protect our underground utilities,” Simpson said. “It's a better way for people doing that type of work to get in touch with us. Our staff will continue to go out and mark our lines as usual, but without having to depend on direct notification.”

The service has proven effective around the country, as well as in North Carolina.