Tennessee 811 is the underground utility notification center for Tennessee. Using the service, excavators are able to notify operators of underground facilities of proposed excavations, to request that the underground facilities be marked before they dig.
Oftentimes, Hixson Utility District will need to do emergency repairs or routine maintenance on our underground utilities. When this occurs, you may notice painted markings on the street and/or your property. This is to notify our field staff where any underground utilities are located.
Homeowners can also take advantage of this service. Three days prior to digging for any project, make sure to call TN811 or visit their website to request identification of your underground utilities. It’s free, easy, and it’s the law!
Color Coding
If you see paint on your street or property, this is what it means:
| COLOR | UTILITY LINE |
| White | Proposed Excavation |
| Pink | Temporary Survey Markings |
| Red | Electrical Power Lines, Cables, Conduit and Lighting Cables |
| Yellow | Gas, Oil, Steam, Petroleum or Gaseous Materials |
| Orange | Communication, Alarm or Signal Lines, Cable or Conduit |
| Blue | Potable Water |
| Purple | Reclaimed Water, Irrigation and Slurry Lines |
| Green | Sewer and Drain Lines |
Outages
Unfortunately, service outages can and do often occur, usually due to leaks in main service lines which are forced to be shut off during repairs for the safety of our crews. When these outages happen, Hixson Utility will call customers we believe will be affected with a brief message detailing the issue. For larger emergencies, we may be forced to shut off water before a callout is performed. Please understand that water is only shut off when necessary.
Larger and lengthier issues may be communicated through additional methods, such as our X (formerly Twitter) feed, @hixsonutility, or on our Facebook account. However, emergency callouts will always be our preferred way to notify our customers. Please make sure the phone number on your account is always up to date. Additionally, adding our main number (423-877-3513) as a contact will ensure you never miss a call.