APWA Color Code

The American Public Works Association uniform color code for marking underground utilities: red for electric, yellow for gas and oil, orange for communications, blue for potable water, green for sewer and drain, purple for reclaimed water and irrigation, pink for temporary survey marks, and white for proposed excavation.

The color code is what makes a set of marks readable by any crew that arrives on site, regardless of who painted them. Private locators use the same code as one-call members, so private and public marks sit side by side and mean the same thing. Individual one-call programs sometimes layer local conventions on top of the base code, so confirm marking requirements with the program that governs your dig.