MERRILLVILLE - NIPSCO is reminding their customers to call 811 before any digging projects.

April is National Safe Digging Month, and with this NIPSCO shared results from a recent national survey where 1,000 homeowners in the U.S. were asked if they call 811 prior to any projects that require digging.

The survey revealed 51 percent of homeowners intend to complete an outdoor project that involves digging in the next year; however, 56 percent of those do not intend to call 811 first.

"Thousands of buried utilities are damaged each year due to digging activities," said NIPSCO in their 811 press release.

"Safe Digging Month reminds homeowners and contractors that digging without knowing the approximate location of underground utilities can result in serious injuries, inconvenient service disruptions and costly repairs when natural gas, electric, communications, water and
sewer lines are damaged."

Free utility location requests can be made online at Indiana811.org or by calling 811 at least two full working days before digging.