With Memorial Day weekend upon us, Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) reminds Do-It-Yourselfers that working in the home or yard can be dangerous if the appropriate precautions are not taken.

Anytime someone has a project that involves digging, it is important to “know what’s below.” Making contact with electric, natural gas, telephone, cable TV or water pipes can not only cause inconvenience to you and your and neighbors, it can be deadly.
Calling 811 Digger’s Hotline http://www.diggershotline.com in Wisconsin is required before doing landscaping, tree planting, installing a new mailbox post, digging post holes for a temporary graduation party tent, creating a backyard pond, or other digging projects. Be safe. Call first and allow three days for a representative to locate your underground facilities, which will be marked with spray paint and colored flags:

• RED-electric power lines
• YELLOW- natural gas
• BLUE- water pipes
• ORANGE- telecom

Customers are strongly advised to hire a professional if replacing a natural gas furnace, grill, stove or water heater. These are projects that can have serious consequences if not done correctly.
Those thinking of doing outside work like roof repairs, gutter cleaning, painting the house, and tree trimming need to be extremely cautious working anywhere near power lines. Making contact with a power line could be fatal.
WPS has 7,800 miles of underground natural gas pipeline and 6,000 miles of underground electrical line in 19 northeastern and north central Wisconsin counties and a small portion of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Additional safety information is available on the WPS website. http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/home/dig.aspx