What you don’t see underground can hurt your wallet. As summer arrives in the Durham Region, homeowners are jumping into backyard renovations. But, while fences, patios, and garden beds may look great above ground, digging without a plan can seriously damage your plumbing. Ruptured water lines, broken sewer pipes and cut irrigation systems are just a few of the headaches that can come from an innocent-looking shovel.
Before you start your next outdoor upgrade, take a few minutes to understand the hidden plumbing risks beneath your lawn and how to avoid a very expensive surprise.
What’s Lurking Under Your Lawn?
Your yard may seem like a clean slate, but beneath it lies a network of utility lines: water supply pipes, sewer laterals, drains, and irrigation systems. These lines are crucial to your home’s function but easy to forget, until you actually hit them.
Even small landscaping jobs like digging a hole for a fence post or planting a tree can lead to serious problems. Home owners often run into trouble when:
- Building decks or fences
- Laying patios or stone walkways
- Planting new trees, shrubs, or garden beds
- Installing retaining walls, ponds, or water features
- Digging for drainage or grading projects
It doesn’t take heavy machinery to cause a plumbing disaster. Just one wrong move with a spade can crack a pipe.
Common Ways Landscaping Can Damage Your Plumbing
1- Cracked Water Lines
Water lines are often shallower than people expect. If punctured, they can cause water pressure loss, higher water bills, or even backyard flooding. In winter, a damaged line can freeze and rupture further.
2- Broken Sewer Pipes
Sewer laterals typically run from your house to the municipal system, and they don’t always run in a straight line. A nicked sewer pipe can lead to slow drains, sewage smells, or backups into your home.
3- Sliced Sprinkler Tubing
Sprinkler systems often get cut when new flower beds or edging are installed. You might not notice until water begins pooling or certain zones stop working.
4- Soil Compaction or Shifting
Heavy landscaping equipment can crush old or plastic piping. Even without direct impact, soil shifting from new structures can disturb pipe slopes or alignment.
Subtle Landscaping Choices That Can Damage Your Plumbing
It’s not just digging that puts your plumbing at risk, Design decisions matter too.
- Trees with aggressive roots can invade pipe joints or cracks, especially in aging sewer lines.
- Heavy structures like concrete pads or planters can put long-term stress on pipes below.
- Improper drainage grading can cause standing water around buried connections, weakening seals over time.
That new retaining wall might look great now, but without careful planning, it could be crushing a water line underneath it.
How to Protect Your Plumbing Before You Dig
The good news is that most of these issues are preventable with a little foresight.
1- Use Ontario One Call
Before doing any digging, contact Ontario One Call. They’ll send someone to mark the location of public utility lines for free. It’s the law and it’s smart.
2- Get a Private Locate for Plumbing
Ontario One Call doesn’t mark your private water and sewer lines (i.e. anything past the property line). A licensed plumber can help you locate these accurately before work begins.
3- Be Cautious Around Sprinklers
If you have an irrigation system and no layout diagram, have it professionally mapped. Even shallow digging can disrupt buried tubing.
4- Hand-Dig in Sensitive Zones
When working near marked lines, use hand tools instead of augers or machinery. It’s slower, but far safer.
5- Plan for Drainage and Root Growth
Avoid planting trees near sewer lines and make sure your landscaping design allows for proper water runoff. Moist soil encourages root growth and can lead to intrusions into your pipes.
What If It’s Too Late?
If you’ve already hit something don’t panic – but act fast.
- Turn off the water supply immediately if you’ve hit a line.
- Avoid flushing or draining anything if a sewer line might be damaged.
- Call a licensed plumber right away to assess the situation and perform repairs.
Waiting can make a small crack worse, leading to bigger repairs and bigger bills.
Don’t Let Your Backyard Dreams Damage Your Plumbing
Landscaping should make your property more beautiful – not more stressful. Whether you’re refreshing your flower beds or launching a full backyard overhaul, take the time to plan around what’s beneath the surface.
Serving the Durham Region and surrounding areas, our expert plumbers are here to help homeowners dig smart and build safely. If you’re starting a landscaping project, call PR Plumbing on (905) 429-9622 first. We’ll help you prevent the kind of underground surprises no one wants to dig up.