811 provides a free and effective Damage Prevention Service that protects  communities and underground utilities.  The objective of the free  811 service is to receive planned excavation reports from public or private  excavators and to transmit those to utility members who may have facilities in  and around that excavation site.   

The  utilities will either:

• Mark or stake the horizontal path of their facility
• Provide information about the location of their facility
• Advise the excavator of clearance for facilities that they own