Water & Sewer Line Trenching

A water or sewer trench looks simple and is not: it has to be deep enough, it has to cross whatever else is buried in the yard, and in most New Brunswick towns the connection itself is a municipal permit with its own rules.

The rules change by town, so check yours. In Fredericton, new water and sewer services are installed by the City's Water & Sewer Division, a site servicing plan goes in with the building permit, and the owner pays once the work is done. Saint John requires a permit for all new, renewal or repair water, sanitary and storm sewer installations. Quispamsis charges a residential water meter connection fee and a sewer connection fee.

Riverview says a permit may be required to tap into water and sewer mains. Moncton lists water and sewer connections as a roadwork and utility permit. Who is allowed to dig which side of the property line was not published for any of these towns, so ask your municipality before you hire.

Locates come first. Book Info-Excavation (3 working days' notice) and NB Power separately (five business days). Private lines you or a past owner put in are not marked by NB Power.

Any trench 1.2 m or deeper that a worker enters must be shored, sloped or benched, or cut in solid rock, under WorkSafeNB's Regulation 91-191, and a worker on the surface must be able to see anyone working in the trench.

No published New Brunswick trenching prices turned up. Machine time is the best-published price: published rates run about $65 to $150 an hour for a mini excavator with operator and $150 to $250 for a standard machine.