Contractors and Home Owners
What hours is OUPS open to answer my call?
Ohio Utilities Protection Service (OUPS) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, weekends and holidays included. OUPS can be reached by calling 8-1-1 or 800-362-2764.
Whether you're doing a major excavation project or a minor construction job such as; planting a tree or installing a mailbox post. Ohio Gas Company along with other OUPS member utilities will come out, locate, and mark the location of our facilities….AT NO CHARGE.
Always call OUPS at least 48 working hours before you dig, but no more than 10 days, before digging. Doing so will allow the utilities the opportunity to locate and mark their underground facilities in advance of the planned excavation. Ohio Gas Company will mark underground gas lines using yellow flags and yellow paint.
What is the standard depth of buried lines?
There are NO standard depths for buried utility lines. Due to such forces as grading, excavation and years of erosion, there is no way to determine depth without physically exposing the lines.
What exactly is the tolerance zone in Ohio?
The tolerance zone, or approximate location, according to Ohio Revised Code (ORC), is "the site of the underground utility facility including the width of the underground utility facility plus eighteen inches on each side of the facility" Any excavation within the tolerance zone should be performed with hand tools in a careful and prudent manner until the marked facility is exposed.
Protect and preserve these approximate markings until they are no longer required for safe and proper excavation. If the markings of gas facilities are destroyed or removed before excavation commences or is completed, the excavator or homeowner must re-notify OUPS, and Ohio Gas Company will remark the location within 48 hours of the notice.
What do I do if I damage a gas line or break a tracer wire?
Damaged Gas Line - If you gouge a plastic gas line or cause damage to a steel gas line or it's coating, call Ohio Gas Company immediately to inspect the pipeline, DO NOT COVER IT UP. A damaged pipeline could fail at a later date, causing serious injury and property damage and you could be held liable.
Tracer Wire - When plastic gas lines are installed, a #12 copper wire is laid in the trench with the plastic gas piping, called a tracer wire. This wire allows our employees to hook up a pipe locator and locate the approximate location of our underground gas piping system. Should the wire get damaged or cut, please call Ohio Gas Company immediately to repair the wire at no charge.
How to recognize a gas leak:
Although gas leaks are uncommon, it is a good idea to be able to recognize them. Some signs are obvious, some are not.
Here are the signs to look for when you suspect a leak:
• Gas odor
• A blowing or hissing sound
• Brown patches in vegetation on or near a gas line
What can you do about a gas leak?
• Leave the area at once! Warn others to stay away
• Eliminate ignition sources, such as turning off motor vehicles. Do not use the telephone, the door bell or operate electrical switches
• Call the gas company
• If there is a large volume of escaping gas call the fire department or 911
Emergency Check List
If gas is escaping from a damaged or ruptured line.
• Turn off machinery and eliminate all sources of ignition
• Call the gas company immediately
• Evacuate the area
• If there is a fire, or danger of fire, call the fire department
• Do not attempt to make temporary repairs or operate any valves
• Keep people clear and away from the escaping gas
If gas is not escaping, but a pipe has been struck, jarred, pulled.
• Stop all work and check for leaking gas, call the gas company immediately
• Check for the smell or sound of escaping gas
• Check the meter set for damage, such as being pulled away from the building
• If the meter has been pulled away from the building, evacuate and call the gas company immediately.
• If gas is escaping inside, call the fire department or 911
• Don't backfill!! The gas company must check the damaged pipe