Can downspouts be buried in a drain line in Saint John?

Burying downspouts into a subsurface drain line is one way to move roof water away from a foundation, and the excavation side is digging and trenching. Whether Saint John's building department requires a permit for the drainage work itself is something to confirm directly with the City of Saint John, as we found no specific rule for this scope in the City's published information.

What shapes the cost and the dig

The machine time is the best-published figure for this kind of work. A mini excavator with operator runs $65 to $150 per hour and a standard excavator with operator runs $150 to $250 per hour, based on published price guides read in September 2026. Few New Brunswick prices are published beyond those hourly ranges, so a quote is built from machine hours, trucking and any material. What moves the price on a job like this: trench length, where the water discharges, whether the contractor hits rock, and whether spoil needs to be hauled away.

Before any machine touches the ground, the contractor must determine the location of underground utilities under WorkSafeNB's General Regulation 91-191. That means two separate locate requests: one through Info-Excavation (Click Before You Dig), submitted at least three working days ahead, and a separate request to NB Power, submitted at least five business days ahead. NB Power's locate covers only NB Power-owned underground power lines and is valid for 60 days from the date on the locate form. Any private lines, such as wiring run to a garage or shed by a past owner, are yours to find and mark before the machine arrives. Ask the contractor to show you both locate tickets before work starts.

If the trench runs within 30 metres of a watercourse or wetland, a Watercourse and Wetland Alteration permit from the province is required before any digging, clearing or machine work begins. That 30 metres is measured horizontally from the top of the bank on the ground, not from a map.

Saint John has a Water and Sewerage Permit Package for new, renewal or repair water, sanitary or storm sewer installations, and lists a Street Excavation permit among its street permits. Whether a buried downspout drain line connecting to a storm system triggers either of those is a question for the City of Saint John directly, and it is worth asking before you book the machine.

A fair quote names the trench length, how rock will be priced if it is encountered, where spoil goes, how backfill will be compacted, and what clean-up is included. Ask the contractor for a WorkSafeNB clearance certificate before signing, and under the Construction Remedies Act you must retain 10% of the contract price as a holdback for 60 days after substantial performance.

Before you commit to a price, ask the contractor exactly where the drain will discharge and whether that outlet point requires any approval from the City of Saint John. The form on this page passes your job to local excavation contractors listed in the New Brunswick Construction Network directory.