Utility companies, including CoServ Electric and CoServ Gas, have wires and pipes that run underground in the easements near your home, streets and highways. We install this infrastructure with safety as our principal concern. With new construction taking place everyday in the Metroplex, an excavator or homeowner risks damaging utility infrastructure - and potential injury - if you dig without calling for the infrastructure to be located first.

If you're a residential customer, excavator, or anyone else who is planning to dig deeper than 16 inches, state law requires you to call a One-Call Notification Center at 1-800-344-8377 or 811, two days before you plan to dig. Calling a One Call Center is completely free!

• Call before you dig. The One Call Center is an important part of the damage prevention process. The One Call Center operates a toll-free number 24 hours per day for excavators/homeowners to use. The One Call Center is available by calling 1-800-344-8377 or call 811. The operator will ask you questions such as the location of your project, when digging will take place, how long you will need to dig, and how deep you will need to dig. They will also give you a locate confirmation number, which you should keep this number for your records. The center will then notify the utility company(s) that you will be digging in an area that may have utility infrastructure.
• Wait the required amount of time. Texas law requires at least 2 working days notice before beginning excavation. This means a homeowner who is putting in a fence on Saturday must call no later than Wednesday!
• Once the utility company is notified about your intention to dig, it will place flags, and paint on the ground to mark the approximate location of buried infrastructure. The paint and flag colors represent each type of utility in the area. For example, gas is yellow, electric is red and communications is orange. Respect the marks and dig with care. During the project, it is the excavator/homeowner’s responsibility to make sure the utility marks remain visible. If they are obliterated or removed, the excavator/homeowner must call for a re-mark. This can be accomplished by calling the One Call Center or 811.
• Dig safely. Once the work begins, it is up to the excavator/homeowner to use safe, accepted digging practices. Regardless of how careful the preparation has been, the excavation work must be performed in a prudent and careful manner. Always hand dig when within 2 feet on either side of any marked lines. Do not pull up the flags until you have finished your project. If your project is delayed, call the One Call Center or 811 again and they will notify the utility that you need to have the area remarked. You must wait 2 working days for the remark.
• If you hit a utility line, or if you know a line has been hit, leave the area and notify that utility immediately. If you hit a CoServ line, please call us at 940-321-7800 or 1-800-274-4014. If you don't know the name of the utility that the line belongs to, call 911.