Drilling & boring
Drilling for new sewer lines in Savannah
Two very different sewer jobs hide behind one phrase. A pressure sewer can be drilled like a water line; a gravity sewer needs a cased, on-grade bore. Knowing which one you have is the first question.
Serving Savannah · Chatham County
Davis Underground Solutions, Inc.
Directional drilling and boring across Georgia; locates, bore plan and utility coordination handled. More about Davis Underground Solutions →
Which sewer do you have?
If a pump pushes the wastewater, you have pressure sewer: a force main leaving a lift station, or a small-diameter lateral from a grinder pump at a house that sits below the street. Pressure pipe tolerates a curve, so a directional rig can drill under the road or the driveway and pull fused HDPE through in a single piece. If the wastewater moves by gravity, the pipe has to drop at a steady slope from the building to the main with no low spots along the way, and a steered bore cannot promise that. The crossing is then made with a steel casing installed by auger bore from a pit dug to the invert elevation, and the gravity pipe is laid through the casing on spacers. The crew that quotes the job in Savannah should ask this question before anything else, because the equipment, the pit depth and the price all follow from the answer.
Where sewer bores come up in Chatham County
Septic-to-sewer conversions are a steady source of pressure laterals, since many of the lots being connected sit below the main and get a grinder pump. Lift stations serving new subdivisions push force mains along county roads and across creeks. Sewer extensions between manholes have to cross streets, and when the street is a state route or was recently repaved, the county will not allow an open cut, which means a cased bore. On private property, a lateral under a long driveway or through a mature yard is bored for the same reason a water service is: nothing on the surface has to be rebuilt.
Permits, taps and inspections
The sewer system that will own the line, a county water and sewer department or a city utility, decides the pipe material, cover, the connection detail at the main or the manhole, and the inspections it wants to witness. Most Georgia systems make the tap or the manhole core themselves or stand over it while it is done. Davis Underground Solutions, Inc. books the bore around that crew's schedule, carries the right-of-way or plumbing permit, files the Georgia 811 ticket for the pits, and finds private laterals and septic lines on the site walk, since 811 does not mark those.
Deeper than most
Sewer has to meet the main at its invert, which puts it below the water line and the gas line on the same street. In the Piedmont the extra depth often reaches rock, handled with rock tooling on the directional rig or a rock head on the auger machine after a test hole. Near the coast and the big rivers the deeper pit fills with groundwater, so shoring and dewatering go into the plan. Both are everyday conditions for a crew that works Georgia year round. Davis Underground Solutions shows recent sewer installations. Estimates are free. Call now: (678) 264-3333.
If you want the long version, Davis Underground Solutions has a page on sewer and water line boring under roads.
Estimates are free. Call now: (678) 264-3333.
Other drilling and boring services in Savannah
Directional Drilling Savannah
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) for new underground utilities: steered bores under roads, driveways, parking lots, creeks and landscaping with no open trench.
Horizontal Boring Savannah
Horizontal boring for conduit, casing and carrier pipe where digging across a surface is not an option.
Auger Boring Savannah
Steel-cased auger bores for road, rail and railroad crossings that need a straight, on-grade casing.
Pipe Boring Savannah
Boring and pulling in HDPE or steel product pipe from a few inches up to large-diameter casings.
Fiber Optic Drilling Savannah
Directional drilling for fiber and communications duct: long bores, multiple ducts in one pull, tight easements.
Electrical Conduit Drilling Savannah
Bores for primary and secondary power conduit, lighting circuits and site electrical feeds.
Utility Drilling Savannah
Multi-utility installs for developers and utilities: power, gas, water, sewer and telecom on one site plan.
Water Main Drilling Savannah
HDD installation of new water mains and service lines, including creek and road crossings.
Gas Line Drilling Savannah
Bores for new natural gas mains and services, coordinated with the utility and its operator-qualification rules.
Questions about sewer line drilling in Savannah
My house sits below the street. Can my sewer lateral be bored?+
Yes, as a pressure lateral with a grinder pump at the house. The small HDPE line is directionally drilled under the yard and the driveway to the main.
Can you bore a gravity sewer across the road in Savannah?+
Yes, by auger boring a steel casing on grade from a pit at the correct elevation and placing the gravity pipe inside it. A directional rig is not used for gravity crossings.
Who makes the connection at the main?+
Normally the sewer utility taps the main or cores the manhole, or watches while it is done. The bore is scheduled so the line is ready when they arrive.
What determines the depth?+
The invert of the main you are connecting to, plus whatever cover the road or creek crossing permit requires along the way. It is read off the utility's drawing.
Does it cost anything to get a price?+
No. Estimates are free. Call (678) 264-3333 now, or send the sewer plan or the utility's connection letter through the form on this page.