What if the foundation hole fills with water in Shediac?

Water in the Foundation Hole: What to Do in Shediac

Ask the excavator how they will deal with water in an open foundation hole, and make sure the cost of keeping it dry is written into the quote before work starts.

We found no public data on the water table for any Shediac lot or neighbourhood, so how much water you will deal with can only be judged on site.

WorkSafeNB's General Regulation 91-191 requires an employer to keep an excavation reasonably free of water, so the contractor has a legal obligation here, not just a practical one. The same regulation requires a trench 1.2 m (about 4 ft) or deeper that workers enter to be shored, sloped or benched, or cut in solid rock, and any shoring must be engineer-certified. Stay back from the edge of any open excavation.

Before any digging begins, locates are required. Submit a request to Info-Excavation through Click Before You Dig at least three working days ahead; that locate is valid until the end date written on the request. Request NB Power's separate underground locate service at least five business days before digging; it covers NB Power-owned lines only and is valid for 60 days from the date on the locate form. Mark any private lines, pipes or drains on the property yourself; NB Power says those are the owner's to have checked. If the lot is within 30 metres of a watercourse or wetland, a Watercourse and Wetland Alteration permit from the province is required before the machine moves.

In Shediac, building and development permits come from Plan 360, the Southeast Regional Service Commission. Under Regulation 2021-2 of the Building Code Administration Act, a footing and foundation inspection must happen before any backfilling begins. Ask Plan 360 how to book that inspection so the hole does not sit open longer than necessary while you wait. Backfilling before that inspection breaks the inspection requirement.

Ask any excavator you speak with how they price pumping, whether it is included in a flat quote or billed by the hour, and what their plan is if inflow exceeds what a single pump can handle.

Start with Plan 360 to confirm your permit and inspection process, because the inspection timing directly controls when the contractor can backfill and close the job.