Trenching is digging a long, narrow cut for a pipe or conduit: a new sewer or water service, a line to a shop or outbuilding, electrical or gas conduit, or a drain line to move water off a yard. It's one of the most common calls an excavation company in Wichita gets, and one of the most regulated, because every trench crosses someone's buried lines. Below is what a trenching contractor in Wichita has to sort out before and during the dig: the 811 locate, the permit that goes with the line, private lines 811 won't mark, and trench safety.
Sewer line replacement and other common trenching jobs
- Sewer service line replacement. Old clay or cast-iron lines break, root up, or sag. Replacing the line from the house to the city main or to a septic tank means a trench along the route, or two pits if the line can be pipe-burst. Whether you need a new line or one repair pit is covered on sewer line repair in Wichita.
- Water service lines. New or replacement lines from the meter or well to the house, set deep enough to stay below frost. More on water line replacement in Wichita.
- Septic lines. The house sewer to a septic tank and the lateral trenches of the absorption field on a rural lot. See septic system installation in Sedgwick County.
- Power and gas to outbuildings. Conduit or pipe to a shop, barn, or detached garage (details below).
- Drain lines. Buried pipe to carry downspout or yard water away from a foundation.
Trenching to a shop, garage or outbuilding
The most common trench on an acreage or a big Wichita lot that isn't a sewer job is the one out to a detached building: a new shop, a detached garage, a barn, a pool house. It usually carries power, sometimes a gas line for a heater, sometimes water, and often a conduit for internet or a camera. Each of those has its own owner, its own code, and its own inspector, so it pays to plan the trench before anyone digs.
- Power is an electrical permit job. Wichita and Sedgwick County enforce the 2023 National Electrical Code through the Unified Building and Trade Code (Article 4, MABCD). The NEC's Table 300.5 sets the minimum cover by wiring method and location (direct-burial cable, metal conduit and PVC conduit each have their own depth, and the numbers change under a driveway, a slab or a street), so the electrician picks the depth to match the wire and conduit they are using, not the other way around.
- Local rules that change the trench. The UBTC amends the NEC so that each building is supplied by only one feeder or one branch circuit, which means one run to the shop, sized for what the shop will need later. It also requires residential and accessory-building conductors under 90 amps to be copper. And wiring or conduit can't be covered until the MABCD electrical inspector has seen it (the code gives the inspector 48 hours on working days), so the trench stays open until the inspection passes.
- A gas line to the shop is yours. Kansas Gas Service says it does not maintain piping that runs to secondary structures or outdoor appliances; the customer is responsible for those lines, and repairs should go to a licensed contractor. In the county code, residential gas piping is regulated under the MABCD plumbing code, so a gas line to a shop is a licensed gas fitter's permit and inspection, with the excavator digging to their spec.
- Water needs frost depth. The code sets Wichita's frost line at 24 inches, so a water line to a shop or hydrant has to sit below that. See water line replacement in Wichita for the meter-to-house version of the same job.
One trench or several? Running everything in one wide trench saves machine time and yard repair, but how close power, gas and water can sit to each other is set by the codes above, not by the excavator. Ask the electrician and the plumber to agree on the layout and depths before the dig, and have the trench dug once to the deepest line's requirement.
Old private lines are the hidden risk. Kansas 811 sends each utility to mark its own lines. A gas line, wire or water pipe a past owner ran to an outbuilding belongs to the property, so it may not be marked at all. Kansas Gas Service tells customers to have buried piping located in advance and to dig by hand near it, so if there's a shop, a yard light, a well or a pool already on the lot, assume a private line until a locator says otherwise.
Tell us about the dig
(316) 869-0053Safety in a trench
Trench collapses are one of the most dangerous hazards in construction. Federal OSHA rules require a protective system — sloping, benching, shoring, or a trench box — for trenches 5 feet deep or more unless the cut is entirely in stable rock. Sandy, wet ground near the river and clay that has been disturbed are both prone to caving. Never step into a deep trench that isn't protected.
Locates and permits
- Kansas 811 every time. Gas, electric, fiber, and water lines run under most yards. The excavator places a locate request through Kansas 811 and hand-digs within the tolerance zone around the marks.
- City sewer connections in Wichita need a city sewer permit, and digging in a street, alley, city right-of-way, or utility easement needs a City of Wichita right-of-way permit.
- Plumbing work on the private line itself generally falls under MABCD and a licensed plumber. See permits and Kansas 811.
Common questions
Who is responsible for my sewer line in Wichita?
Generally the property owner owns the service line from the house to the connection at the city main. Check with the City of Wichita for your specific address and where the city's responsibility starts.
How deep does a trench to a shop or detached garage need to be in Wichita?
It depends on what goes in it. The electrician sets the depth for power from the 2023 NEC cover table (it differs for direct-burial cable, metal conduit and PVC, and changes under a driveway), a water line has to sit below the 24-inch frost line, and a gas line follows the plumbing code the licensed gas fitter works under. A shared trench is dug to the deepest requirement.
Can a trench be dug without tearing up the whole yard?
Sometimes. Depending on the job, trenchless methods like boring may be an option, especially to get under a driveway or sidewalk. Ask the contractor what fits your line and soil.