What Does An Orange Utility Flag Mean?

Orange utility flags seem to sprout up out of nowhere, and if you've ever arrived home to find them in your own lawn, you may have wondered why they're there. At this point, you'll benefit from understanding the different colored lawn flags and what they mean. The American Public Works Association (APWA) has created a handy nationwide color-coded system for property utility flags. The flags themselves are a safety tool, acting as markers that let everyone know where certain lines have been buried underground. In this case, orange flags indicate telecommunication lines are present. 

From fiber-optic lines and landline telephone cables (yes, those are still a thing), these underground networks keep things like our TVs, phones, and internet operating. They also indicate important alarm and signal lines. Placing an orange flag in the ground where these lines are buried prevents people from digging in those locations and causing damage to the communication systems. 

It's the law that if you are going to dig on your property, you must call 811, a federal call-before-you-dig service line, to have a surveyor come out and clear the area. There are plenty of DIY yard projects that require a call to 811, from a major renovation project to simply putting in a post for a new mailbox. If you find orange flags in your yard that you didn't ask for, don't panic. It could simply mean someone close by requested permission to dig and your lawn landed within the survey circumference. You can call 811 to inquire about them.

You might be tempted to grab those orange flags out of your yard, but it's important to pay attention to them and not move them. At the risk of sounding obvious, they were put there for a reason. Interestingly enough, certain telecommunication lines, like cable and phone lines, aren't buried very deep. They are usually only sunk 12 inches or less into the ground, making accidentally digging into them pretty easy. It's good to know where those lines run through your yard, and thanks to those little orange flags, you'll be able to avoid them. 

If you did happen to dig into them and ruin the lines, you might have a real problem on your hands. There's the obvious expense to repair the lines, which is probably not something anyone has as a line item in their annual budget. Even if the service company cuts you a break on repairs, you still run the risk of temporarily losing communication services, like TV or internet.

Some fiber-optic lines, which might only be about 12 to 36 inches deep, run through a whole neighborhood on easements, which might be on your property. In these cases, digging into those lines wouldn't just affect you. Imagine having to explain to your neighbors why they'll be missing weeks of Property Brothers because you accidentally severed their streaming service capabilities. It's best for everyone if you take the orange utility flags seriously and let them inform you rather than annoy you. That way all the home improvement shows you can watch on Netflix will continue streaming happily ever after.