2020 DIRT Report

2020 DIRT Report Tools & Resources

The 2020 DIRT Report’s analysis found that in an unprecedented year, damage trends remained remarkably consistent: Year over year, a handful of damage root causes persist in driving the vast majority of damages. In 2020, the top five damage root causes accounted for almost 70% of total damages. The 2020 Report also recommends that damage prevention stakeholders examine how they are addressing these specific root causes: failure to notify 811, failure to pothole and/or maintain clearance, and facilities not marked or marked inaccurately due to locator error or the presence of an abandoned facility.

To help the industry better understand damage prevention in 2020, several one call centers submitted data on ticket volume and late locates for the 2020 DIRT Report. CGA and the Data Committee would like to thank participating call centers, whose data illuminated another 2020 trend: a significant increase in homeowner tickets.

Download 2020 Factsheet

Download 2020 DIRT Report

Member Resources

CGA has created a suite of resources and graphics for members to use. (member only)

DIRT Report 2020 Graphs & Charts

5-Year Comparison of Damages to Spending

5-Year Trend of Damages

Damage Root Cause Group by Event Source

Damage Root Cause Group by Excavator Type

Damage Root Cause Group by Facility Damaged

Damage Root Cause Group by Year

Damages by Event Source

Damages by Facility Operation

Excavating Practices Root Cause Bar Graph

Excavating Practices Root Cause Pie Chart

Failure to Maintain Marks Root Cause

Gas Distribution System Damage - Potential Impact

Invalid Use of Request by Excavator Root Causes

Locating Practices Root Causes Bar Graph

Locating Practices Root Causes Pie Chart

No Locate Request Root Cause

Reported Damage by Root Cause Group Pie Chart

Reported Damage by Root Cause Table

Top 5 Root Causes to Overall Damages Comparison

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Join the Data Committee

The Data Reporting & Evaluation Committee is the driving force behind CGA’s Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT). The committee the processes that govern the tool and manages the statistical evaluation/reporting of data on an annual basis.

Join Committee

Using the Damage Information Reporting Tool

Data informs nearly every aspect of CGA’s operations and industry recommendations. With the launch of the Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) in late 2003, stakeholders have been able to submit underground damage and near-miss reports through a completely secure, private web application. Using information submitted through the tool each year, CGA’s Data Reporting and Evaluation program publishes an annual report (the DIRT Report) as well as an interactive dashboard. CGA has created a variety of tools and resources around the DIRT program for members to use.

View Toolkit