# Storm Drain Excavation and Re-Grading in Denver

Storm drain excavation is the machine work required to expose, replace, and correctly re-lay buried storm drainage. On storm systems the excavation is usually shallow and usually crosses the parts of a property people care most about, which makes planning the opening and the restoration the difference between a good job and a scar.

- Shallow trench work across finished landscape.
- Utility locating before any machine moves.
- Bedding and fall corrected, not just pipe replaced.
- Compacted backfill in lifts.
- Turf, concrete, and paver restoration.

## Why Does Storm Work Usually Mean Digging?

Because the two most common storm failures, crushing and lost grade, both require the pipe to be reached and re-laid. A crushed section cannot be repaired from inside. A section that has settled below fall has to be lifted and re-bedded, and there is no way to do that without exposing it.

The saving grace is depth. Storm lines are shallow, typically far shallower than a sanitary lateral, so the excavation is smaller and the work is quicker. The complication is what is above them, because shallow lines are the ones running under lawns, patios, and driveways.

- Replacing crushed or collapsed sections.
- Re-laying a run that has settled out of fall.
- Setting or replacing a catch basin.
- Correcting a separated joint admitting soil.
- Extending or re-routing a discharge line.
- Installing new drainage where none exists.

## How Bedding and Fall Decide Whether the Repair Lasts

Storm pipe is generally thinner walled than sanitary pipe and depends on the material around it for its strength. Laid on lumpy native clay with rocks under it, a plastic drain pipe carries its load at point contacts and eventually deforms. Laid on graded bedding material, it is supported along its length.

Fall is the other half. A storm run needs continuous downhill grade, and getting that right on a shallow line across a flat yard is genuinely the hard part of the job. We set it with instruments rather than by eye, because an eye-levelled storm line across sixty feet is how bellies get built into new work.

- Graded bedding material under the full pipe length.
- Fall set with instruments and verified before backfill.
- Backfill placed and compacted in lifts.
- Surface restored to match what was cut.
- A water test and camera run before the trench is closed.

## How a Storm Excavation Runs

1. **Locate and mark** Public utility locate plus our own trace of the storm run, marked on the surface. Shallow does not mean safe to dig blind.
2. **Cut and open** Surface cut cleanly where it is hard, turf lifted where it can be replaced, spoil placed where it will not damage what stays.
3. **Re-lay to grade** Bedding placed, pipe laid to instrument-set fall, joints made properly, and the line tested before cover.
4. **Backfill and restore** Compacted lifts, then turf, concrete, or pavers restored to the standard of the surface that was opened.

## What Drives Storm Excavation Cost

Length of trench, surface type, and access. Storm excavation is rarely deep, so depth is less of a driver here than it is on sanitary work. What costs money is what is on top: mature turf, irrigation, pavers, concrete, and mature planting all have to be dealt with and put back.

Access matters because a machine that can reach the work does it in hours and hand digging takes days. Narrow gates and tight side yards genuinely change the price.

Call (720) 935-6221 and we will walk it before we quote it.

## Frequently asked questions

**How deep is a typical storm drain?**

Shallower than people expect, often within the first couple of feet on a residential yard drain and deeper only where it has to cross under something. That is why storm lines get crushed by traffic and construction so readily, and why locating before digging still matters.

**Will my irrigation system be affected?**

Storm runs and irrigation lines occupy the same shallow band, so crossings are common. We locate what we can, work carefully through the rest, and repair any irrigation line we cut. Telling you afterwards that we hit something and left it is not how we work.

**How long before the lawn looks normal again?**

Compacted backfill and replaced turf settles in within a growing season. What causes a lasting scar is uncompacted backfill, which sinks into a visible channel following the trench. That is avoidable and it is on us to avoid it.

**Who owns the storm drain on my property?**

In almost every case across the Denver metro, the storm drainage inside the property line is private. Area drains, trench drains, downspout lines, private catch basins, and the pipe carrying that water to the connection point are the owner's responsibility. The public system generally begins at the connection in the right-of-way.

**Are you the city stormwater department?**

No. Denver Sewer and Water is a private, family owned and operated company. We are not Denver Water or the City and County of Denver. We work on the privately owned storm drainage on your property. The public system in the street belongs to the municipality.

## Related Storm Drain Services

- [Storm Drains in Denver](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/storm-drains/denver-co) The full storm drainage lane: inspection, cleaning, repair, and replacement.
- [Storm Drain Repair](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/storm-drains/storm-drain-repair) Fixing collapsed, offset, root-bound, and separated storm drain runs.
- [Storm Drain Replacement and Installation](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/storm-drains/storm-drain-replacement-installation) New storm drainage and full replacement of runs that cannot be repaired.
- [Storm Drain Scope and Video Inspection](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/storm-drains/storm-drain-scope-video-inspection) Camera survey of storm lines, basins, and outfalls before anyone quotes work.

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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/storm-drains/storm-drain-excavation