Rerouting

Installing the line along a different path rather than the existing one.

What this page cannot establish

SewerOwner cannot establish whether rerouting is appropriate for your property
this approach cannot establish that a new route is permissible without checking
this approach cannot establish that the new route avoids all obstructions

What it attempts to do

Establish a new route for the line where the existing route presents difficulties that a same-route method would not resolve.

When contractors may discuss it

These are circumstances in which the approach comes up, not a checklist that makes it correct. There is no situation in which one method is universally right.

when the existing route runs beneath features that make work impractical
when the existing route has repeatedly presented problems
when a shorter or more accessible path exists

What has to be known before applicability can be judged

If a proposal for this work is priced without these, it is priced against assumptions. That is not necessarily wrong — but the assumptions should be written down.

where the new route would run and what it crosses
what other buried services are present
whether easements or property boundaries are involved
where the new route would connect

Access and site considerations

affects surfaces along a new path
may involve easements or neighbouring property
the abandoned line may need specific treatment
likely to require permits

What to clarify in a proposal for this work

These are the details that most often differ between two proposals for what sounds like the same job.

the proposed route, described precisely
what happens to the abandoned line
what permissions the new route requires
restoration along the new route
whether the new route is recorded for future reference

What to keep afterwards

a record of the new route
the permit and inspection record
post-work footage

Alternatives worth asking about

Asking why one approach is proposed rather than another is a reasonable question, and the answer tells you what the contractor believes about your line.

Traditional excavation

Digging along the line to expose and replace pipe directly.

Expose the line so that pipe can be removed and replaced, and so that what is uncovered can be observed directly.

Cannot establish: the condition of any section outside the excavation; that no further conditions exist elsewhere; that the new installation will perform for any stated period.

Pipe bursting

Pulling a new pipe along the existing route while displacing the old one.

Replace the pipe along its existing route by drawing new pipe through while the existing pipe is displaced outward, using pits rather than a full-length trench.

Cannot establish: that the route is suitable without site-specific assessment; the position of other buried services; that this method is preferable to any other for a given property.

What would change the answer

where the new route would run and what it crosses
what other buried services are present
whether easements or property boundaries are involved
where the new route would connect

What to do next

A new route can cross recorded interests that the existing one did not, and that is a permissions question before it is a construction one.

Check what the new route crosses

If your situation is different

You want the same-route options: Trenchless and excavation methods

Easements and rights of way
A new route raises questions the old one did not.