How Many Colors Are Used in Blue Stakes?

• A. 4
• B. 6
• C. 8
• D. 10

Answer: (C)

Blue Stakes relies on a standardized color code for marking underground utilities before digging. The system uses eight distinct colors to identify different types of buried facilities, typically including red, yellow, blue, orange, green, purple, pink, and white. Each color maps to a facility type (for example, red for electric, yellow for gas, blue for water, orange for telecommunications, green for sewer, purple for irrigation, pink for temporary survey, and white for proposed excavation). Because the official palette consists of eight colors, the correct choice is eight. If you don’t see all colors at a site, it may mean some utilities aren’t present there, but the standard Blue Stakes color set is eight colors.