Highlights
- Southwest Gas processed approximately 980,000 utility-marking requests in 2025, a volume that helped cut infrastructure damage 4.5 percent year over year.
- Homeowners who skipped the 811 call before digging accounted for the largest share of underground gas line damage, most involving hand tools.
- Residents and contractors can request free line marking at call811.com at least two working days before any digging project.
- Southwest Gas offers free damage-prevention training for contractors, landscapers, plumbers, municipalities, and homeowners at swgas.com/damage-prevention-training.
Southwest Gas processed approximately 980,000 requests to mark underground utility lines across its service territory in 2025, and companywide damage to underground natural gas infrastructure fell 4.5 percent compared to 2024, the company said in a release timed to National 811 Day on August 11.
Despite the improvement, homeowners who began digging without first contacting 811 accounted for the largest share of damage to underground natural gas lines across Southwest Gas service territories, with the majority of those incidents involving hand tools.
The utility serves more than two million customers throughout Arizona, California, and Nevada. Residents and contractors can submit a free marking request at call811.com or by dialing 811 at least two working days before breaking ground on any project, from tree planting and fence installation to irrigation upgrades. Marked lines cover natural gas, electric, water, and other essential services at no cost to the requester.
Southwest Gas recommends hand-digging carefully within two feet of newly marked lines, using blunt tools such as rounded shovels, watching for soil changes that may signal proximity to a line, and verifying line depth rather than relying on old markings.
Anyone who damages or suspects damage to a natural gas line should leave the area immediately and, from a safe location, call 911 and Southwest Gas at 877-860-6020. Signs of a leak include a sulfur or rotten-egg odor, a hissing or roaring sound near the ground or appliances, and blowing dirt, bubbling water, or unexplained dead vegetation.
Free damage-prevention training covering state-specific excavation requirements and safe digging practices is available to contractors, landscapers, plumbers, municipalities, and homeowners at swgas.com/damage-prevention-training. Additional safe-digging information is at swgas.com/dig-safe.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- phoenixchamber.com retrieved 20/08/2026 16:25
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 20/08/2026 16:25. Every claim traces to a source.
