Underground Utility Contractor in Chapel Hill, NC

Chapel Hill is incorporated as a town, mainly in Orange County with a part in a neighboring county. It has an estimated 64,028 residents (2024 Census estimate) on about 22 square miles of land.

Wooded lots and root zones

On wooded residential lots, large trees often stand between the house and the street, right where the water service and the sewer lateral run. Trenching through a root zone can harm a tree that took decades to grow, and roots themselves are a common cause of sewer lateral failures.

There are ways to do underground work that respect the trees:

• Hydro excavation removes soil with water and vacuum, so roots can be left largely intact while a line is exposed and assessed.
• Directional drilling can carry a replacement line beneath the root zone, with entry and exit pits placed outside it.
• A new route around the trees can sometimes replace the old one, with the old line abandoned as the owner and the utility require.
• Where a trench is unavoidable, its route and width can be chosen to limit the roots affected.

Any tree protection rules come from whoever owns or regulates the tree; we will ask about them.

We also take on larger work for businesses, institutions and public owners in Chapel Hill.

NC811 before excavation

North Carolina requires a locate request through NC811 before digging, under the Underground Utility Safety and Damage Prevention Act. North Carolina law (G.S. 87-122) requires at least three full working days of notice, and a ticket ends 28 calendar days after the work start date. Include the exact address, as the town spans a county line.

Chapel Hill and nearby towns

Carrboro, Durham, Hillsborough, Morrisville, Pittsboro and Cary are near Chapel Hill. We serve those communities as well.

Photos of the trees near the work and of the area where the line runs help us plan around them.

We reply with our questions and the approach we recommend.