811 doesn't locate private-side utilities, and homeowners don't know

When you call 811, the locate service only marks utilities up to the meter or point of service — the gas shutoff valve, the electrical transformer, the water meter. Everything on the private side of that point (sewer laterals, private water lines, gas piping to outbuildings, irrigation, landscape lighting conduit, buried propane lines) is invisible to 811. Most homeowners and even many contractors don't know this. A homeowner rents a trencher to install a fence, calls 811 like a responsible citizen, gets the all-clear because no public utilities are in the path, and then hits their own sewer lateral 18 inches down. The repair costs $5,000-15,000 and their yard is destroyed. Private utility locating services exist but cost $500-2,000 per visit, aren't advertised by 811, and aren't required by any state law. The structural reason this gap persists: 811 one-call centers are funded by utility companies to protect their own assets. They have zero financial incentive to locate infrastructure they don't own. Private locating is an entirely separate industry with no regulatory framework, no certification standards, and no connection to the 811 system. The homeowner falls into a responsibility gap that nobody is motivated to close.