You’ve decided to take the plunge on a pool. If you haven’t already, you’ll hear the number “811” come up. It may sound a little like 911’s close cousin, but this phone number is much less scary. 811 is a free service that marks your underground utility lines before anyone starts digging in your backyard (also called “Julie” in Illinois).
Aloha Pools and Spas has served the Mid-South for nearly 60 years, and we’ve seen how crucial 811 services are to a successful pool build. Pool installation involves serious excavation, and before any dirt starts moving, you need to identify the utilities running under your yard.
In this article, we’ll cover what 811 actually does, what those colorful markings mean, what 811 does NOT find, and how the process shifts depending on where you live. Requirements vary by state, so we’ll break it down by the states Aloha serves: Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
Now- let’s dig a little deeper.
What Is 811 and Why Do You Need It to Build a Pool?
811 is the free service that connects the person doing the digging with participating utility operators in the area. Pool excavation absolutely counts as digging, which means it absolutely requires this service.
Here’s the process:
- Your sales representative identifies and outlines the excavation area.
- They submit a locate request to 811 online or over the phone.
- 811 notifies relevant utilities.
- Those utility companies (or their contract locators) then come out and mark their lines.
Only after the required response and wait period has passed should excavation begin.
This is one of the most important steps in your entire pool build. Skipping it, or rushing past the waiting period, can mean hitting a line during construction, which costs money, time, and occasionally a very unhappy utility company.
Tennessee explicitly lists installing a swimming pool as a project requiring 811 notification. Arkansas 811 does the same for homeowner projects. Every state Aloha serves treats a pool build as excavation, but the exact process looks a little different depending on where your backyard sits.
What Do the Different 811 Marking Colors Mean?
Once utilities respond to your locate request, they’ll paint or flag your yard in a color-coded system. These colors follow the APWA Uniform Color Code, so what you see in Union City, TN looks the same as what you’d see in St. Louis, MO:
- Red: Electric
- Orange: Communications/telecommunications
- Yellow: Gas, oil, petroleum
- Green: Sewer/drain
- Blue: Potable water
- Purple: Reclaimed water/irrigation
- White: Proposed excavation
- Pink: Temporary survey markings
What Does the White Paint Around My Pool Area Mean?
White markings aren’t a utility at all- they represent the area where excavation is planned, not what’s buried underneath it. For a pool build, pre-marking your dig area in white helps the locator understand exactly where to focus their search, since a pool site is a large, non-linear excavation rather than a simple straight trench. Illinois JULIE specifically calls out pre-marking for projects like this.
Think of it this way: white tells everyone “here’s where we’re digging.” Every other color tells you “here’s what’s already there.”
What Does 811 NOT Find Before a Pool Is Installed?
This is the part that trips people up, so it’s worth being upfront: calling 811 does not mean every underground line on your property gets marked. 811 covers public utilities. Private lines are a different story entirely.
Things that typically fall outside of 811’s scope include:
- Electric lines running to detached structures
- Pool equipment and heater connections
- Landscape lighting
- Irrigation systems
- Private water or sewer lines
- Propane lines
- Any other homeowner-installed underground lines
Tennessee 811 is especially direct about this, specifically listing power to pool heaters and landscape lighting as examples of what it won’t mark. Arkansas 811 gives a similar warning: utilities locate their own facilities, not private ones. Rural properties tend to have a higher chance of missed or unmarked lines, simply because homeowners have added more private infrastructure over the years without documentation.
That’s why our sales representatives still call 811 ahead of your build, and why our teams stay alert for anything the call might not catch. It’s one extra layer of caution on top of the legally required one.
How Does 811 Work Differently in Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri?
The core idea is the same everywhere: call before you dig. But the details, timing, and tolerance zones shift state to state. Here’s what it looks like in each of the main states we serve:
Tennessee: Contact Tennessee 811 at least three working days before excavation begins. Tennessee’s tolerance zone (the safety buffer around a marked line) is the utility width plus 2 feet on either side. Private lines are not necessarily located, and locate tickets are only valid for 15 calendar days, so don’t assume an older ticket is still good.
Arkansas: Contact Arkansas 811 at least two working days before digging. Utilities generally respond within that same two-day window. The tolerance zone is roughly 18 inches, and private lines remain the homeowner’s responsibility, not the utility’s.
Illinois: 811 connects you with JULIE. Illinois requires notification before every digging project, and current guidance points toward giving at least three business days’ notice to be safe (state reminders have trended that direction). The tolerance zone is 18 inches on either side of a marked line. Because a pool is a large, non-linear excavation, pre-marking the site in white is especially useful here.
Missouri: Contact Missouri 811 at least three working days before digging. Utilities will either mark their lines or provide an all-clear. Missouri’s tolerance zone is 24 inches on either side of a marked utility, not counting the utility’s own width, and the state has its own specific marking standards.
Can City or Local Rules Change the 811 Process?
Yes- and this matters more than people expect. State 811 requirements are the baseline, but municipal permitting, right-of-way rules, and easement requirements can add extra steps on top of that baseline. This is particularly relevant around the St. Louis area, which our O’Fallon, IL store serves, where city-specific excavation and permitting requirements can layer on top of the standard Illinois JULIE process.
811 isn’t identical everywhere, even within the same state. Always check your applicable city or county requirements in addition to the state 811 process before construction begins.
Pool Owner 811 FAQs
Do I have to call 811 before installing a pool? A call must be made, but your sales rep does that for you. Every state Aloha serves treats pool installation as excavation, which legally requires an 811 call before digging begins.
How long does 811 take? It depends on your state, generally two to three working days for utilities to respond and mark their lines, though tickets and timelines vary (see the state breakdown above).
What do the colors painted on my yard mean? Each color represents a different underground utility, following the national APWA color code: red for electric, yellow for gas, blue for water, and so on. White marks the proposed excavation area itself, not a utility.
Does 811 find private utility lines? Not reliably. 811 covers public utilities. Private lines like pool equipment wiring, irrigation, and landscape lighting typically fall outside its scope.
Who marks the utility lines after I call 811? 811 itself doesn’t come out and mark anything. The individual utility companies, or contractors working on their behalf, handle the actual marking after being notified.
Next Steps for Your Pool Installation
Excavation is one of the biggest first steps in building your pool, and 811 helps ensure it happens safely. It’s not scary, and it’s not particularly time-consuming when you plan for it- it’s simply a built-in part of how a pool gets built the right way.
At Aloha, we don’t leave this step to chance. Our sales representatives call 811 as part of your project from day one, right alongside the other prep work that goes into your build. Curious what the rest of that process looks like once digging actually starts? Check out this pool construction article.
811 makes the whole process smoother and safer for everyone involved, and it gets you that much closer to the pool you’ve been dreaming about.
