Underground Utility Contractor in Columbia, SC

Columbia is the largest city in Richland County, with an estimated 144,788 residents (2024 Census estimate) on about 138 square miles of land. A very small part of the city extends into a neighboring county.

Detention ponds and their outlet structures

Many commercial sites and subdivisions hold back storm water in a detention pond or an underground chamber, releasing it slowly through an outlet structure. The structure has an opening sized by the engineer, often with a grate or a skimmer, and a pipe that carries the water to a ditch or a storm sewer. When it clogs or fails, the pond stays full or drains too fast.

Common work on these systems:

• removing sediment and debris from outlet structures, inlets and underground chambers with a vacuum truck;
• inspecting the outlet pipe and its joints, and repairing or replacing failed sections;
• rebuilding or replacing a damaged structure to the original design or a revised one from the engineer;
• repairing inlet pipes where they enter the pond, and the erosion around them;
• documenting the work for an owner who must report on the system's maintenance.

Before any digging, existing lines are located through South Carolina 811 and exposed with hydro excavation where they cross the work.

We also handle water service, lateral, storm and conduit work for homeowners, associations, businesses and public owners in Columbia.

Notice before digging

South Carolina 811 handles locate requests under the Underground Facility Damage Prevention Act, S.C. Code Title 58, Chapter 36. The law sets the notice at no less than three and no more than twelve full working days, and a ticket expires 15 working days after the commencement date.

Around Columbia

Arcadia Lakes, Forest Acres, Cayce, Elgin, West Columbia and Blythewood are near Columbia. We serve those communities as well.

For a pond or a chamber, include the site drawings, photos of the outlet and any maintenance notice. We follow up with our questions and the approach we recommend.