The rollout of Verizon’s high speed fiber-optic lines to the home has not been without its problems, according to some upset D.C. area residents, and area utilities.

Verizon contractor crews bury fiber-optic cable.

Regional utility companies told The Washington Post that Verizon workers have struck water pipes 76 times in the past year in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland. They have hit Washington Gas lines 288 times in both states and Columbia Gas lines 27 times in parts of Virginia.

Pepco and Dominion Virginia Power also said their lines have been hit, with some resulting power outages, the newspaper reported Monday.

Residents, too, are having problems. They have complained to local governments about damaged lawns, sprinkler systems and driveways. Since last September, Fairfax residents have made 176 formal complaints to the county’s consumer protection office.

Oakton resident Mary Schaeffer said workers caused a big lump in her newly paved driveway after digging under it to install Verizon lines last spring. They offered to patch the damage but not to repave, she said.

“If I wanted a patch, why would I have saved two years to have a new driveway put in?” she asked. “Somebody ultimately came to my house, tore up my yard and my driveway. I don’t care whose fault it is. Why is this my problem?”

Still other complaints have come from cable companies such as Cox Communications and Comcast. They have accused Verizon contractors of cutting their lines hundreds of times in the past year, causing service disruptions.

Both companies have made informal complaints to state officials.

Harry Mitchell, a Verizon spokesman, said the company is committed to limiting damage caused by the 1,700 contractors burying lines in Maryland and Virginia. He said Verizon inspectors check the work, and that the company provides intensive training for the construction companies.

“Our goal and objective is to give advance notice before we dig, to do it right, to do it safely and to restore it afterward,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the company’s record is “pretty good for a project this size.” So far, he said, Verizon has installed 25 million feet of lines in the area and has been averaging 19 instances of damage per 100,000 feet, or about one every mile. — Associated Press

The trouble isn’t with Verizon itself, but with its contractors who perform the actual work of burying the fiber optic lines, and occasionally, the trouble is that the existing utility lines aren’t marked correctly.

Let this be a reminder: Call before you dig. Barring error on the part of the utilities, this will help prevent these sorts of accidents. To find your local One Call number, call +1 888 258-0808.