This year, Locator Safety Week and Work Zone Safety Awareness Week are both observed from April 21 to 25. These awareness campaigns serve as important reminders of the need to protect the workers who maintain our essential infrastructure. These professionals ensure public safety both above and below ground, often in challenging and hazardous conditions.
Locator Safety Week underscores the vital role utility locators play in preventing damage to underground infrastructure. Every day, these workers face serious risks from traffic, weather conditions, and unmarked utilities.
Within the district, our operators are tasked with identifying and marking water and sewer infrastructure in high-traffic areas, helping to prevent accidental damage during excavation. Please note that the district only locates district-owned utilities — customer-owned water and sewer lines are not marked.
Work Zone Safety Awareness Week brings attention to the importance of exercising caution in and around roadside work areas. District crews frequently perform maintenance and locates near high-traffic intersections where water and sewer infrastructure is located. These areas are inherently dangerous, and our operators have very little physical protection.
Drivers, pedestrians, and workers must all do their part:
- Slow down.
- Stay alert.
- Follow posted signs and flaggers.
- Avoid distractions.
Performing maintenance to district infrastructure ensures that district customers receive the most reliable, highest-quality distribution of drinking water and efficient, cost-effective wastewater collection service as possible while preserving public health and protecting the environment. When you see a district utility vehicle surrounded by orange cones, please remember that our operators are working just feet away. Driving too fast or too close to the cones puts their lives at risk.
We appreciate your patience during emergency repairs or service interruptions, and we value your ongoing support for the safety of our dedicated field staff.