# Excavation in Denver

Denver Sewer and Water performs underground utility excavation for sewer lines, water lines, storm drains, septic systems, and taps across the Denver metro. We locate before we dig, choose open cut or trenchless based on what the camera and the site actually show, pull the permits, and restore the surface we opened. The crews and the equipment are ours.

- Sewer, water, storm, and septic excavation.
- Verified utility locating before any digging.
- Open cut, hydro excavation, and directional boring.
- Right-of-way permits and traffic control.
- Compaction and surface restoration to spec.

## When Does a Line Have to Be Excavated?

A line has to be excavated when the pipe can no longer serve as a host for a trenchless repair or when the connection point itself has to be reached. That means collapse, loss of grade, a belly holding water, a re-route, a new tap into the main, or a deformed material like Orangeburg that cannot support lining. If the pipe still holds its shape and the slope is sound, we would rather line it or burst it and leave your yard intact.

The decision is not a preference. It comes off the camera footage, the locate, and the depth. We grade the line, mark where the defects sit, and then tell you which method the pipe can actually accept.

- Collapsed pipe or a section that has lost its shape.
- Bellies and lost slope that lining would preserve rather than fix.
- A new or replacement tap at the main.
- Re-routing a line around a structure, an addition, or a tree.
- Deformed Orangeburg or badly separated joints.

## Open Cut or Trenchless? How We Decide

Trenchless is the better answer when the host pipe holds its shape, the grade is sound, the defects are distributed rather than catastrophic, and there is access at both ends. Open cut is the better answer when the pipe is collapsed, the slope has to be corrected, the alignment has to change, or the work is at a connection point that has to be exposed and inspected.

There is a third case people miss. Sometimes the cheapest honest job is a hybrid: line the long run and open cut only the failed section at the property line. We quote what the pipe supports, not what sells easiest.

- Host pipe intact and grade sound: lining or bursting is usually the right call.
- Grade correction required: excavation, because no liner fixes slope.
- Alignment change or re-route: excavation.
- Tap or connection work: excavation to the main, with shoring.
- Mixed condition: line the sound run, open cut the failed section.

## How an Excavation Job Runs

1. **Camera and Locate** We scope the line, grade it, and mark depth and defect locations. Utility locates are requested and then verified on site before any equipment moves.
2. **Permits and Traffic Control** Sanitary review, right-of-way permits, and a traffic control plan where the street requires one. We carry these rather than handing them to the owner.
3. **Site Protection** Access route planned, surfaces protected, spoils staged, and tree protection observed where the canopy or root zone is regulated.
4. **Careful Exposure** Around known crossings we vacuum excavate rather than dig blind. Paint on grass is an approximation, not a guarantee.
5. **Excavate, Shore, and Replace** The trench is opened and shored to depth, the pipe is replaced or the connection is made, and the work is inspected before it is covered.
6. **Backfill and Restoration** Compacted in lifts to the spec for the surface above, then the surface is restored to what was cut, including concrete, asphalt, and landscape.

## What Drives Excavation Cost?

We will not put a number on this page, because excavation pricing is driven by conditions we have to see first. Depth is the single largest driver, followed by what is above the pipe and what has to be put back.

The honest version is that a shallow lateral in an open back yard and a deep connection under a concrete street are the same pipe and very different projects. We quote after the scope and the locate, not before.

- Depth of the line and the shoring the trench requires.
- Soil conditions, groundwater, and rock.
- Surface being cut: turf, asphalt, concrete drive, or city street.
- Right-of-way permitting and traffic control requirements.
- Length of the run and the number of crossings in the way.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do you locate utilities before excavating?**

Always. Locates are requested and then verified on site, and around known crossings we expose the utility with vacuum excavation rather than digging blind. Locate marks are an approximation of horizontal position, not a guarantee of depth.

**How much of my yard gets torn up?**

That depends on the method the pipe supports. A lined run needs access pits at each end. A full open cut replacement needs a trench the length of the run. We show you the footprint on the site before the work starts so it is not a surprise on the morning of.

**Do you restore the surface after excavation?**

Yes, and to the specification for what was cut. Concrete is replaced with concrete, asphalt with asphalt, and turf is backfilled and compacted properly so the trench does not settle into a rut over the next season.

**Will you need to dig in the street?**

Only if the work is in the right-of-way, which is common in Denver because the owner's lateral runs to the main under the street. That triggers a right-of-way permit, often a traffic control plan, and the city's restoration standard.

**Can you excavate around mature trees?**

Usually, and often that is the reason to choose a trenchless method or a hand and hydro excavation approach instead of a machine trench. Protected trees and parkway canopy carry their own rules in Denver, and those get planned in before we quote.

**What happens if you find something unexpected in the trench?**

We stop and tell you before we keep going. Unmarked utilities, prior repairs, and buried debris are real in a hundred year old city. Changing the scope quietly is how people end up with a bill they did not agree to.

## Excavation Work and Methods

- [Sewer Line Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/sewer-lines/sewer-line-excavation/denver-co) Open cut replacement and repair of the sanitary lateral.
- [Water Line Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/water-lines/water-line-excavation/denver-co) Service line replacement, breaks, and connections at depth.
- [Storm Drain Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/storm-drains/storm-drain-excavation) Storm line replacement and drainage correction on private property.
- [Septic System Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/septic-systems/septic-system-excavation) Tank, line, and field excavation for septic repair and replacement.
- [Open Cut Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/open-cut-excavation) When trenching is the right method and how we sequence it.
- [Hydro Excavation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/hydro-excavation) Vacuum excavation for safe exposure around live utilities.
- [Directional Boring](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/directional-boring) Boring a new path under surfaces we would rather not cut.
- [Line Locating and Marking](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/line-locating-and-marking) Locating the line and verifying depth before anything opens.
- [Trenchless Sewer Repair](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/methods/trenchless-sewer-repair) The alternative to excavation when the host pipe supports it.
- [Tap Services in Denver](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/tap-services/denver-co) Connections at the main, which are excavation work by nature.
- [Sewer Lines in Denver](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/sewer-lines/denver-co) The full sanitary lateral service surface.

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Denver Sewer and Water is a privately owned, licensed and insured plumbing contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Denver Water, the municipal water utility, or any government entity. To pay a municipal water bill or reach the public utility, visit denverwater.org.

Source: https://www.denversewerandwater.com/excavation/denver-co