BC 1 Call provides a public service for British Columbians. Essentially, BC 1 Call is the communications link between the digging community and owners of underground infrastructure. Our purpose is to prevent infrastructure damage that results in unnecessary service interruptions, environmental incidents, and repair costs.
While not quite a one-stop-shop for excavators (as not all underground infrastructure owners are members of BC 1 Call), BC 1 Call – as a single point of contact – is able to notify multiple members for the excavator based on a single standardized locate request form and a standardized process. Members notified often include infrastructure owners that the excavator hadn’t thought of. This simplicity and convenience for excavators result in more locate requests being submitted as well as more notifications to members with infrastructure at risk. The benefits of a One Call system are enjoyed by both excavators and owners.
See the Member Information Package section on our Member Resources page.
As a source of indirect locate requests for members, BC 1 Call helps reduce the risk of accidents, injury, environmental or facility damage and downtime, as well as improved safety and lower litigation and compensation costs. BC 1 Call is a part of the underground infrastructure damage prevention strategy of our members. For more information consult our Membership page.
Members leverage BC 1 Call as an indirect source of locate requests which might not otherwise be submitted to a member directly. As a result, the member can expect to receive more advance warnings of excavations near their underground infrastructure than if they were not a member.
A member organization that is notified by BC 1 Call of a locate request provides the information to the excavator. i.e. BC 1 Call notifies members of locate requests but does not respond to excavators directly. The member still manages their own procedures for handling locate requests – and uses the same procedure regardless of whether the locate request was submitted directly or indirectly through BC 1 Call.
No, as long as the excavator calls BC 1 Call through our toll-free number 1-800-474-6886 to avoid long-distance charges.
No. Computerized mapping is the preferred format for ease of integration with the BC 1 Call mapping system, but BC 1 Call will make every reasonable effort to accommodate the map format provided by members. See Electronic Mapping Conversion Requirements on our Member Resources page.
There is a one-time joining fee of $50, and an ongoing membership fee based on locate request driven notifications to members. In 2020, the ongoing membership fee is $2.50 per notification sent to the member. The membership fee is established each fall by the Board of Directors for the following year.
Documents and other helpful information can be found on the BC 1 Call Member Resources page.