Quick answer
Dig Out WNY handles excavation, demolition and construction site work in North Tonawanda, NY, for homeowners, landlords and businesses. That includes sewer lateral replacement under the city's Chapter 75 sewer rules, garage tear-downs, driveway rip-outs, yard drainage on poorly drained lake silt, and footings and basements for new homes and additions. Call or text (716) 444-6613 and we'll schedule a walk-through of the property.
North Tonawanda is flat, silty and wet underneath. The city covers just under 11 square miles between the Niagara River and the Erie Canal, and most of its houses went up before 1960, so the jobs here tend to involve old pipes, old garages and ground that hangs on to water. You'll get a plan that accounts for all three from the first site walk, not after the trench fills up.
Dig Out WNY is locally owned, and we answer our own phone. We work in all three wards, from the tight blocks around Webster and Oliver Streets to the thinner-settled east side around Deerwood Golf Course. Tell us what needs to be dug, torn down or built. We'll walk the property, look at where the sewer and water lines run, and give you an estimate you can plan around.
Between the Niagara River and the canal: what's under the city
North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, not a town, so building, plumbing and engineering approvals all come out of City Hall on Payne Avenue. Tonawanda Creek, which carries the Erie Canal, forms the city's southern and eastern edges, with Erie County on the far bank. The Niagara River runs along the west side, bending around Tonawanda Island. The city's plan names four state routes as its main corridors: River Road (Route 265), Niagara Falls Boulevard (Route 62), Twin Cities Memorial Highway (Route 425) and Route 429.
The ground is old glacial-lake bottom. USDA soil survey data for Niagara County maps most of the city's mapped land as Canandaigua and Raynham silt loams. NRCS describes Canandaigua as very deep, poorly to very poorly drained silt, with water that moves slowly through the subsoil and tends to pond on top. In NRCS terms, very deep means any bedrock lies more than about five feet down, so drain lines and other shallow trenches go through silt, not rock. The city's comprehensive plan says nearly half of North Tonawanda sits on poorly drained soil.
Flood zones and wetlands matter too. About 475 acres along the Niagara River fall inside the 1 percent annual-chance flood area, most of the 0.2 percent zone follows Tonawanda Creek, and the city counts 451 acres of DEC-regulated wetland, including the back half of Deerwood Golf Course and open land south of East Robinson Street.
Then there's the age of the houses. The Census Bureau puts the median year built at 1955. The Sweeney Estate Historic District alone holds 478 contributing buildings in styles from bungalow and Craftsman to Foursquare and Tudor Revival, and 68 catalog kit homes from the Ray H. Bennett Lumber Company stand mainly on Wheatfield, Bennett and Stanley Streets. Ward 2, with downtown and the southwest side, is the most densely settled, so getting equipment onto those lots takes some planning.
Services in North Tonawanda
What we do in North Tonawanda
The work we do in North Tonawanda falls into three groups. Some are underground, like a sewer lateral replacement from the house to the city main, or a yard drainage system for silt that won't dry out. Some are tear-outs, like garage tear-downs and cracked driveways. Some are new work, like foundations and basements for additions and infill houses. We take residential and commercial jobs, and every estimate follows a walk around the property.
Demolition & Removal
Excavation & Earthwork
Building & Foundations
Sewer, Water & Utilities
Driveways & Finish Work
Replacing a lateral under the city's Chapter 75 rules
In North Tonawanda the building sewer is yours. City Code § 75-4 makes the property owner pay to install it and hook it up. If a failing line starts to undermine the street, the Superintendent of Public Works can demand a repair within 10 days. If the owner lets that deadline pass, the city does the work and assesses the cost against the property. The same section sets out how the dig has to go:
- Open trench is the default. Any other method needs the Plumbing Inspector's approval first.
- Pipe is at least four inches, with no less than 1/8 inch of fall per foot.
- No run laid parallel to or within three feet of a load-bearing wall it could weaken, and deep enough to stay out of the frost.
- No backfill goes in before the inspection. The tie-in, at the existing Y-branch where there is one, is made under the Plumbing Inspector's supervision.
- Streets, sidewalks and parkways are restored, usually with the same materials that came out.
The city runs a combined sewer system, much of it built in the mid-20th century, and its code keeps roof runoff, groundwater and subsurface drainage out of any sanitary-only sewer. If a basement backup is what sent you looking at the lateral, we'll also look at where your downspouts and sump discharge go. Wet silt trench walls slump quickly, so sewer work here gets planned with shoring, pumping and stone bedding ready before the first cut.
Building new on a city lot: the grading permit comes first
North Tonawanda's Engineering Department wants to see the dirt plan before the house plan moves. For new construction that changes a lot's grades, the minimum guidelines it posts online say no building permit will be issued until a grading permit is reviewed and approved. The drawing has to be stamped by a professional engineer or land surveyor and show existing contours at one-foot intervals, proposed contours at half-foot intervals, and the planned sanitary lateral, storm sewer and water service.
For a house, the guidelines cap the first floor at 3 feet above the road centerline. Finished grade at the front foundation wall is figured by carrying a 1 percent slope from the road to the front setback, and the top of the foundation sits 1.5 feet above that. On flat, slow-draining silt, those numbers decide how deep the basement goes and which way the water runs, so footings and backfill get set to them.
Once the footer is poured, the Building Department requires a 48-hour wait before the wall inspection, so the schedule builds that in. Additions and garages need a property survey with the permit application. If an old house is coming off the lot first, its sewer can be reused only after the Plumbing Inspector examines and tests it. We handle the new home construction dig, footings and basement walls with those checkpoints on the calendar.
Tear-outs, flat work and wet yards on older city lots
If the garage or driveway on your North Tonawanda lot is as old as the house, it may be time for it to go. Taking a garage down is more than dropping the walls. The slab and footings come out, any electric feed to the garage is disconnected first, and the hole is backfilled and compacted in lifts so a new slab or lawn doesn't settle. A garage tear-down often pairs with a driveway rip-out, and that second part comes with a permit step. Since October 4, 2016, the city has required a permit for all flat work, including concrete, asphalt, driveways, patios and sidewalks.
Wet yards are the other big headache on these lots. Canandaigua silt drains slowly and tends to pond, so a low backyard can stay soft for days after a storm. The fix is usually regrading plus a way out for the water, such as a French drain, a catch basin or a buried downspout line. City code sends roof and ground water to storm or combined sewers or an approved outlet, never a sanitary-only line, and nobody opens or connects to a public sewer without written permission from the City Engineer. Near the river floodplain or a mapped DEC wetland, check the flood and wetland maps before changing grades.
North Tonawanda permits, inspectors and 811 before digging
Permits in North Tonawanda run through City Hall at 216 Payne Avenue. The Building Department issues building permits, including the flat-work permit for driveways and patios. The Plumbing Inspector issues plumbing permits and supervises building-sewer connections. The Engineering Department handles grading permits, and city code requires written permission from the City Engineer before anyone uncovers or connects to a public sewer. Sewage goes to the city's own wastewater treatment plant on River Road, and the building sewer from your house to the main is the owner's to install and repair.
Every dig also starts with an 811 locate request through UDig NY. Utilities typically mark their public lines up to the property line, but UDig NY lists sewer laterals and water services among the private lines that may not get marked, so those have to be found another way before digging. Forms, fees and inspection steps get revised from time to time, so check with the Building Department at City Hall before you set a schedule.
Questions & answers
Questions from North Tonawanda homeowners
Is a broken sewer line under the street my problem in North Tonawanda?
Yes, in most cases. North Tonawanda's code treats the whole building sewer, from your house drain out to the public sewer, as the owner's expense to install and hook up. If a failing lateral threatens to undermine a public road, the Superintendent of Public Works can send written notice to repair it within 10 days. If the owner doesn't, the city makes the repair and assesses the cost against the property. We handle the dig and the replacement, and the Plumbing Inspector oversees the connection.
Do I need a city permit to replace my driveway in North Tonawanda?
Yes. Since October 4, 2016, North Tonawanda's Building Department has required a permit for all flat work, which it lists as concrete, asphalt, driveways, patios and sidewalks. That covers the new driveway going in after a rip-out. The department takes most permit requests by email with the job address, scope of work, cost and contractor name, and it asks contractors for a copy of the signed contract. Confirm the current process with the Building Department before the old driveway comes out.
Can a new North Tonawanda house reuse the old lot's sewer line?
Only if it passes the Plumbing Inspector's examination and test. North Tonawanda's sewer code lets an old building sewer serve a new building only when it meets every current requirement, including a minimum four-inch pipe and at least 1/8 inch of fall per foot. Laterals under older houses are often clay tile, cast iron or, on some postwar homes, Orangeburg fiber pipe, and any of them may have cracked, shifted or taken in roots. Budget for a new line and treat reuse as a bonus.
What kind of soil is under North Tonawanda, and why does it stay wet?
Mostly silt left behind on the bottom of an old glacial lake. USDA soil data for Niagara County maps much of the city as Canandaigua and Raynham silt loams, and NRCS describes Canandaigua as poorly to very poorly drained, with slow-moving water in the subsoil and a tendency to pond. The city's comprehensive plan says nearly half of North Tonawanda sits on poorly drained soil. Grading, French drains and catch basins help, but the water needs a legal outlet, never a sanitary-only sewer.
How high can a new house sit above the street in North Tonawanda?
The Engineering Department's grading guidelines cap the first floor at 3 feet above the centerline of the road in front of the house. Finished grade at the front foundation wall is set with a 1 percent slope from the road to the front setback, and the top of the foundation goes 1.5 feet above that grade. A stamped grading plan showing these elevations has to be approved before the city will issue a building permit.
Can my North Tonawanda sewer lateral be replaced without digging a trench?
Only with the Plumbing Inspector's approval. North Tonawanda's code makes open-trench work the default for building sewers unless the inspector approves another method, and nothing gets backfilled until the work has been inspected. So plan on an open trench unless the city signs off on something else. In wet silt, an open trench also lets the inspector see the pipe bedding and the connection at the main before anything is covered.
Service areas
Other towns we serve
The same crew and the same approach across Erie and Niagara counties.
Sources and further reading
- City of North Tonawanda Building Department: permits, flat work and inspections (opens in a new tab)
- City of North Tonawanda Engineering: grading permit drawing requirements (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- North Tonawanda City Code, Chapter 75 (Sewers), § 75-4 and § 75-5 (opens in a new tab)
- City of North Tonawanda Comprehensive Plan 2025-2045 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- USDA NRCS Official Series Description: Canandaigua soils (opens in a new tab)
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year: median year built, North Tonawanda city (opens in a new tab)
- UDig NY: private vs. public utility lines (opens in a new tab)
Have a North Tonawanda lot that needs digging?
Call or text (716) 444-6613, or send a note through the contact page. We'll walk your North Tonawanda property first and give you a number after seeing the ground.