When a side sewer collapses or a water service line fails, you have two options: dig it up and replace it, or pay considerably more to have it done trenchless. If your yard can take a trench, digging is the cheaper answer by a wide margin, and that is the work we do.
What we dig for
- Side sewer replacement from the house to the main
- Water service line replacement from the meter to the house
- New sewer and water runs to shops, barns and ADUs
- Sewer connection trenches when a property comes off septic
- Excavation and exposure of a failed section for your plumber to repair
- Backfill and restoration once the line passes inspection
Dig-and-replace versus trenchless
Trenchless is the right call in some situations — under a mature tree you want to keep, under a finished driveway, under a road. It leaves the surface alone. It also costs substantially more, and Spokane has specialists who do nothing else.
For a straightforward run across an open lawn, digging is faster and cheaper and the lawn recovers in a season. If you have a trenchless quote and your yard is wide open with nothing in the way, get a second number before you sign it.
How the work splits up
We dig the trench, expose the line, bed the new pipe and backfill in compacted lifts once it has passed inspection. Your licensed plumber makes the connections under their own permit — that is the normal split on this work, and a good deal of ours comes to us through plumbers for exactly that reason.
On a long run, the spoil goes wherever you want it on the property. If there is nowhere to put it, say so when you call and we will help you line up hauling. Septic systems are a separate trade with its own Health District permit, and we can point you to someone who holds one.
Permits and locates
Side sewer work in the City of Spokane requires a permit, and the permit is generally pulled by the licensed contractor doing the connection. Every dig starts with an 811 locate — no less than two and no more than ten business days ahead, and since January 2026 the rules require a response from every operator before anyone breaks ground. We build that into the schedule rather than surprising you with it.
Related work
See also trenching and utility installs for power, water and conduit runs, and backfilling for how we close a trench so it does not settle.
Where we work
Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Mead, Colbert, Chattaroy, Deer Park, Nine Mile Falls, Cheney, Airway Heights and Medical Lake — about 50 miles out from Spokane. We work the Washington side of the state line.
Grizzly Excavation Services LLC — Washington contractor license GRIZZES767J5. Licensed, bonded and insured. Free estimates.