Unlimited Grading & Utility LLC installs and replaces water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer systems throughout Rapid City, Black Hawk, the Black Hills, and western South Dakota. We install mains and service laterals, set manholes and catch basins, tie into existing city systems, bed pipe on clean aggregate, and compact the trench in lifts so the surface above it does not settle.
Underground utility work is unforgiving — it gets buried, and mistakes surface years later as a sag, a break, or a failed inspection. That is why we grade pipe to laser, bed and haunch properly, and compact backfill in controlled lifts. Call 605-381-6458.
Underground utility services we provide
We work on new installations, replacements, extensions, and repairs, for residential, commercial, and municipal-scale projects:
- Water main and service line installation — new mains, taps, valves, hydrant leads, and residential and commercial water services
- Sanitary sewer installation — gravity mains, service laterals, cleanouts, and manhole setting
- Sewer line replacement — replacing failed clay, cast iron, and Orangeburg lines in older neighborhoods
- Storm sewer systems — storm mains, inlets, catch basins, and outfall structures
- Culverts, headwalls, and end sections — driveway and road crossings sized for actual flow
- Common utility trenching — shared trench for power, gas, water, and communications
- Trench excavation, bedding, and backfill — shored, bedded on clean rock, and compacted in lifts
- Tie-ins to existing systems — coordinated connections to city water and sewer mains
Sewer and water line replacement in older neighborhoods
A lot of housing stock across Rapid City and the surrounding towns is old enough that the original service lines are at or past the end of their life. Clay sewer lines crack and take on root intrusion. Orangeburg — the tar-impregnated fiber pipe used in mid-century construction — deforms and collapses. Old galvanized water services corrode shut and drop pressure.
When a line is failing, we excavate, replace it with modern PVC or HDPE, re-bed it, tie it back into the main, compact the trench, and restore the surface — driveway, lawn, or street patch. On properties where open-cut would take out mature landscaping or hard surfaces, we will tell you straight whether the excavation is worth it or whether a trenchless specialist is the better call.
Why trench backfill and compaction matter more than the pipe
Most utility failures people blame on the pipe are actually bedding and backfill failures. If pipe is set on uneven native material instead of clean bedding rock, it carries load at single points and cracks. If the haunch area under the pipe springline is not filled, the pipe deflects. If backfill is dumped in one shot instead of placed in lifts and compacted, the trench consolidates over the next few seasons and you get the classic sunken strip across a driveway or yard.
We do it in order: clean bedding, pipe laid to grade, haunching worked in, cover placed and compacted in controlled lifts, and the surface restored. It costs a little more time and it is the difference between a utility that lasts fifty years and one that gets dug up twice.
Answers
Water, Sewer & Storm Sewer Installation — questions we get asked
How much does it cost to replace a sewer line?
The main cost drivers are length of run, depth, what is on top of it (lawn is cheap, a concrete driveway or a city street is not), whether rock is present, and how the tie-in to the main has to be made. A short shallow residential lateral in open yard is a very different job from a deep run under a paved drive with a street cut and patch. We give a written quote after seeing the site and locating the existing line.
Do you install both water and sewer on the same job?
Yes. On most new builds we set the water service and the sanitary sewer lateral in the same mobilization, often in a common utility trench with power and communications conduit, which is cheaper and less disruptive than separate trenches. Separation and cover requirements still have to be met, and we build the trench to satisfy them.
Do you handle locates and inspections?
We call in utility locates before we dig on every job — that is required and it is not optional. We also coordinate directly with city and county inspectors so pipe is inspected before it is covered. Permits are usually pulled by the property owner or general contractor, and we will tell you exactly what needs to be in place before we mobilize.
Can you install a water and sewer service for a new rural build?
Yes. Outside of city service areas we install water lines from wells or rural water taps, and we do the excavation and site work for septic systems and drainfields. On rural builds we pay particular attention to burial depth for frost protection and to routing lines around future driveways and outbuildings so they are not in the way later.
Service Area
Water, Sewer & Storm Sewer Installation across western South Dakota & Wyoming
We provide water, sewer & storm sewer installation throughout our full service area.
- Rapid City, SD
- Black Hawk, SD
- Custer, SD
- Hot Springs, SD
- Gillette, WY
- Philip, SD
- Black Hills
Related
Often paired with
Utility Trenching for Power & Communications
Electrical, fiber, and common utility trench cut to depth, conduit bedded, trench compacted.
Learn moreDrainage, Detention Ponds & Culverts
Move water off the site on purpose — ponds, culverts, catch basins, French drains, and ditching.
Learn moreGrading & Site Preparation
Building pads, cut and fill, mass excavation, and finish grade you can build on.
Learn moreNeed water, sewer & storm sewer installation?
Call Jason at 605-381-6458 or email jason@unlimitedgrading.com. Free on-site estimates across Rapid City, the Black Hills, and Gillette.