C 1.0
Unit prices
The whole sheet, broken out by division the way an engineer's estimate is broken out, so a district can size a project before it spends money on design. Planning ranges with a stated basis — not a bid.
W, Potable water SS, Sanitary sewer Reviewed October 2026
A unit price is not a number, it is a number plus the four conditions it assumes. Publish the number without the conditions and it is worse than useless, because somebody will build a budget on it.
So here is how to use this sheet. Find the line that matches your work. Read the range as a spread, not an average: the bottom of it is shallow, dry, open ground and easy access; the top of it is deep, wet, congested and under pavement that has to be put back the way the jurisdiction specifies. Then read the division note, which says what the band actually depends on, and the basis statement at the foot of each table, which says what is not in it.
What is genuinely missing from every number on this page is your site. Two identical pipes in two identical towns can differ by a factor of three, and almost none of that difference is the pipe. The variables that decide it are depth, groundwater, what is already in the corridor and what is on top of it. Those four, in that order, move more money than anything else in this trade.
Some lines on this sheet do not carry a price and never will. A tie-in to a live main is priced from the plant, with the operators present, because what it costs is decided by what carries the flow and what happens if the window overruns — and those are attributes of your system, not of the fitting.
Every figure on this page carries the unit it is measured in. A price per linear foot and a price per cubic yard are not comparable numbers, and a sheet that lets them be confused is how a budget ends up wrong by an order of magnitude.
Units of measure
- LF
- Linear foot
- EA
- Each
- CY
- Cubic yard
- SY
- Square yard
- SF
- Square foot
- LS
- Lump sum
- MO
- Month
- DAY
- Day
Excluded from every figure
- Engineering, surveying and permitting
- Bonds and insurance
- Owner-furnished materials and equipment
- Easement and right-of-way acquisition
- Applicable tax
- Undisclosed or differing site conditions
On a public project the bonds and insurance are a real percentage of the whole. Carry them as their own budget line rather than assuming they are buried in somebody's unit price.
Sizing a project this week?
Telephone with the length, the depth and the surface and the range narrows on the call.
Call (303) 482-3059Mon–Fri 7:00 AM–4:30 PM MT
C 2.0 The sheet
Priced by the unit, by division
Row bands are the APWA uniform colour code for what is in the pipe: W, Potable water potable water, SS, Sanitary sewer sanitary sewer, unbanded where the line covers both or neither. It is the same code that gets painted on the street before anyone digs, and it is the fastest way to read a bid tab.
Division 02 Water distribution and transmission
Depths are cover over the crown. Prices include bedding, backfill, compaction, pressure and leakage testing, disinfection and bacteriological clearance.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02.10 | 8″ PVC water main, 6′ coverOpen cut, normal access, dry ground | LF | $185–$310 |
| 02.15 | 8″ PVC water main, 8–12′ coverTrench support required | LF | $255–$445 |
| 02.20 | 12″ PVC water main, 6′ coverOpen cut, normal access | LF | $245–$420 |
| 02.25 | 16″ ductile iron water mainRestrained joint, thrust restraint, testing | LF | $395–$690 |
| 02.30 | 24″ transmission mainDuctile iron or steel, depth dependent | LF | $640–$1,180 |
| 02.40 | Fire hydrant assemblyHydrant, valve, tee, thrust block, restoration | EA | $8,400–$14,500 |
| 02.45 | Gate valve, 8–12″, with boxSet, restrained, operable | EA | $3,600–$7,200 |
| 02.50 | Water service, ¾–1″, short sideCorporation, tubing, curb stop, box | EA | $2,100–$3,900 |
| 02.55 | Water service, ¾–1″, long sideIncludes road crossing | EA | $4,200–$8,800 |
| 02.60 | Pressure reducing valve stationVault, valves, piping, instrumentation | EA | $54,000–$185,000 |
| 02.70 | Connection to live mainTap, tie-in or cut-in, with shutdown coordination | EA | site visit |
Division 03 Gravity sewer and manholes
Depth bands matter more than diameter on gravity sewer. Price the depth, then the diameter. Prices include air and mandrel testing and post-construction CCTV.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03.10 | 8″ PVC gravity sewer, 8–12′ depthOpen cut, dry ground | LF | $210–$395 |
| 03.15 | 8″ PVC gravity sewer, 12–18′ depthTrench support and dewatering as required | LF | $340–$640 |
| 03.20 | 8″ PVC gravity sewer, over 18′ depthEngineered shoring, staged spoil handling | LF | $560–$1,150 |
| 03.25 | 15–18″ gravity sewerDepth dependent | LF | $390–$720 |
| 03.30 | 24–36″ gravity interceptorDepth dependent, RCP or PVC | LF | $620–$1,480 |
| 03.40 | 48″ sanitary manhole, 8–12′Base, barrel, cone, frame and cover, vacuum tested | EA | $7,800–$13,500 |
| 03.45 | 48″ sanitary manhole, over 18′Deeper barrel, dewatering, coated | EA | $16,500–$38,000 |
| 03.50 | 60–72″ manhole or junction structureCast-in-place or precast, lined | EA | $24,000–$72,000 |
| 03.55 | Manhole rehabilitation and liningClean, repair, cementitious or epoxy liner | EA | $4,800–$14,000 |
| 03.60 | Sewer service reconnectionTo the property line, with reinstatement | EA | $2,400–$5,200 |
| 03.70 | Connection to live sewerTie-in with flow control or bypass | EA | site visit |
Division 04 Force main and pipeline rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is priced on the condition assessment, so a CCTV survey comes before a number rather than after it.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04.10 | Force main, 6–12″ HDPEFused, tested, with air release assemblies | LF | $220–$460 |
| 04.15 | Force main, 14–20″HDPE or ductile iron, restrained | LF | $385–$780 |
| 04.20 | Trenchless crossing, bore and jackUnder road, rail or stream, casing included | LF | $620–$1,850 |
| 04.25 | Horizontal directional drill, 8–16″Entry and exit pits, pullback, testing | LF | $340–$920 |
| 04.30 | Cured-in-place pipe lining, 8–15″Cleaning, CCTV, liner, service reinstatement | LF | $140–$310 |
| 04.35 | Cured-in-place pipe lining, 18–36″As above, with bypass while curing | LF | $285–$680 |
| 04.40 | Pipe bursting, 8–12″Static burst, HDPE replacement, reconnections | LF | $195–$430 |
| 04.50 | CCTV inspection and cleaningPre- and post-construction, with deliverable video | LF | $4–$14 |
Division 05 Structures and water-retaining concrete
Water-retaining concrete is a different product from structural concrete: low-permeability mix, crack-control reinforcing, a waterstop at every joint, a planned placement sequence and a hydrostatic test before anybody accepts it.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05.10 | Structural excavation and shoringIncluding dewatering where required | CY | $28–$62 |
| 05.20 | Cast-in-place water-retaining concreteForming, reinforcing, placing, finishing, curing | CY | $1,450–$2,600 |
| 05.21 | Structural concrete, non-water-retainingSlabs, foundations, equipment pads | CY | $820–$1,480 |
| 05.30 | Waterstop and joint sealantPVC waterstop, hydrophilic strip, sealant | LF | $46–$95 |
| 05.40 | Hydrostatic leakage testingFill, hold, measure, report, per structure | EA | $9,500–$34,000 |
| 05.50 | Precast vault, set and sealedDelivered, set, sealed, frame and cover | EA | $18,000–$72,000 |
| 05.60 | Protective coating, immersion serviceSurface preparation to standard, coating, holiday testing | SF | $22–$58 |
| 05.70 | Aluminium handrail and gratingOperator access, to code | LF | $145–$290 |
Division 06 Process mechanical and piping
Where equipment is owner-furnished, the split between receiving, setting, connecting, commissioning and certifying is agreed in writing before delivery. That one page prevents most of the disputes this scope otherwise produces.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06.10 | Process mechanical installationEquipment received, set, aligned, grouted, connected | LS | by scope |
| 06.20 | Process piping, ductile iron, 12–36″Pipe, fittings, restraint, supports, testing | LF | $390–$1,250 |
| 06.25 | Process piping, stainless, 4–12″Welded, passivated, supported, tested | LF | $285–$740 |
| 06.30 | Valves and gates, processSet, actuated where required, stroked and proven | EA | $3,200–$48,000 |
| 06.40 | Blower or pump set, installedPer unit, excluding the equipment itself | EA | $14,000–$78,000 |
Division 08 Bypass and temporary works
This division is the price of keeping the plant in compliance while it is rebuilt. A bypass is sized on peak wet-weather flow, not average flow, and it runs and is proven before anything is demolished.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08.10 | Bypass pumping, 6–12 MGDPumps, suction and discharge, redundancy, 24-hour attendance | DAY | $3,200–$9,400 |
| 08.11 | Bypass pumping, 1–6 MGDSmaller plant or a single process train | DAY | $1,400–$3,600 |
| 08.12 | Bypass pumping, under 1 MGDLift station or a short reach of collection system | DAY | $620–$1,700 |
| 08.20 | Bypass mobilisation and setupDelivery, rigging, piping, proving under real flow | LS | $28,000–$145,000 |
| 08.30 | Temporary process equipmentScreening, pumping or dosing carried temporarily | MO | by scope |
| 08.40 | Standby crew and equipmentHeld on site through a shutdown window | DAY | $4,200–$11,000 |
| 08.50 | Temporary water supplyPotable, chlorinated, sampled, to affected customers | DAY | $1,100–$4,600 |
Division 09 Shutdown, demolition and rehabilitation
A planned tie-in is not a line item that can be priced from a drawing set. It is priced from the plant, at the plant, with the operators present.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09.10 | Shutdown and tie-in, plannedRehearsed, low-flow window, written procedure, contingency in place | EA | site visit |
| 09.20 | Selective structural demolitionInside an operating facility, with protection | CY | $95–$340 |
| 09.25 | Equipment removal and disposalDisconnected, removed, recycled or disposed | LS | by scope |
| 09.30 | Structure rehabilitation and coatingSurface preparation, concrete repair, protective coating | SF | $18–$52 |
| 09.40 | Confined-space entry, attendedWet wells, digesters, vaults, with rescue provision | DAY | $1,900–$4,200 |
| 09.50 | Grouting and crack injectionStructural or leak-sealing, per linear foot of crack | LF | $38–$140 |
Division 10 Testing, commissioning and training
Commissioning is the phase most often compressed in a schedule and the phase where compression does the most damage, because the people who lose are the operators who have to run the plant afterwards.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.10 | Commissioning and functional testingPer system, against written acceptance criteria | EA | $6,500–$42,000 |
| 10.20 | Operator trainingOn the systems delivered, with written materials | DAY | $2,400–$4,800 |
| 10.30 | As-built record drawingsSurveyed, drafted, to the owner's CAD standard | LS | $8,500–$52,000 |
| 10.40 | O&M manual compilationAssembled, indexed, delivered in the required format | LS | $6,200–$34,000 |
Division 11 Surface restoration
On a residential street the restoration is the project as far as the public is concerned. Nobody sees the pipe; everybody sees the patch, the driveway and the lawn.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.10 | Asphalt pavement restorationFull-depth patch, tack, compaction, striping | SY | $62–$135 |
| 11.15 | Asphalt mill and overlayFull lane width where the jurisdiction requires it | SY | $28–$68 |
| 11.20 | Concrete flatwork restorationSidewalk, curb, gutter, driveway, to the nearest joint | SY | $95–$195 |
| 11.30 | Landscape restorationTopsoil, seed or sod, irrigation repair | SY | $16–$48 |
| 11.40 | Traffic controlPlan, signs, devices, flagging, per day of active work | DAY | $680–$4,200 |
Division 12 Lift and pump stations
A lift station is the smallest thing in a collection system and the one most likely to put sewage in a creek. The parts that matter most are the parts nobody photographs: the alarm path and the generator under load.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.10 | Wet well, 8′ diameter, 20–30′ deepPrecast or cast-in-place, coated, with dewatering | EA | $145,000–$385,000 |
| 12.20 | Valve vault and pipingVault, valves, check valves, piping, supports | EA | $68,000–$165,000 |
| 12.30 | Submersible pumps, set and testedPer pump, guide rails, base elbow, cabling | EA | $24,000–$86,000 |
| 12.40 | Electrical service and controlsService, control panel, level control, wiring | LS | $95,000–$280,000 |
| 12.50 | SCADA integration and alarm pathPoints to the owner's system, tested end to end | LS | $28,000–$95,000 |
| 12.60 | Standby generator and transfer switchSet, connected, commissioned, load-bank tested | LS | $78,000–$240,000 |
| 12.70 | Odour controlCarbon or biological, per installation | LS | $42,000–$180,000 |
| 12.80 | Station site work, fencing and accessDrive, turnaround, fencing, grading, drainage | LS | $46,000–$155,000 |
Division 13 Site civil and earthwork
The scope the operators live with. A plant road that holds ice, a yard that ponds, a valve box buried under six inches of regrade: all small, all permanent, all avoidable.
| Item | Description | Unit | Unit price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.10 | Site grading and earthworkCut, fill, moisture conditioning, compaction | CY | $14–$38 |
| 13.20 | Structural fill, placed and testedImported, placed in lifts, density tested | CY | $42–$88 |
| 13.25 | Rock excavationWhere encountered and classified as rock | CY | $58–$185 |
| 13.30 | Storm drainagePipe, inlets, outfall, erosion protection | LF | $165–$390 |
| 13.40 | Plant road and hardstandSubgrade, base, asphalt or concrete | SY | $68–$155 |
| 13.50 | Erosion and sediment controlInstalled, maintained through the project, removed | LS | $12,000–$68,000 |
| 13.60 | Dewatering, sustainedWells or sumps, treatment and discharge permit compliance | DAY | $840–$4,800 |
Unit prices are USD planning ranges for the Colorado front range, exclude engineering, surveying, permitting, bonds, insurance, owner-furnished materials, easement and right-of-way costs and any applicable tax, and assume normal access and no undisclosed site conditions. They are published so a district can size a project before it spends money on design. They are planning ranges, not a bid. Divisions are numbered for this sheet only and do not correspond to a CSI MasterFormat division. Reviewed October 2026. A price for your project comes from a bid or a proposal against a defined scope. See the disclaimer.
C 3.0 The four variables
Same pipe, three times the price
Every range on this sheet is a range because of these four, and they are the four questions worth answering before anybody asks for a number.
| Variable | Bottom of the range | Top of the range | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | Under 8′, standard trench box | Over 18′, engineered shoring | Different support system, bigger equipment, spoil handled twice, production per day falls sharply |
| Groundwater | Dry trench, no dewatering | Sustained dewatering with treated discharge | Changes the method, adds a day rate, and the discharge itself needs a permit and monitoring |
| Congestion | Open ground, nothing else in the corridor | Threading between gas, electric, fibre and storm | Locates, potholing, hand excavation near existing services, and a fraction of open-field advance rate |
| Surface | Field or gravel, seed restoration | Arterial pavement with staged traffic control | Traffic control plan, night work, full-lane pavement replacement to the jurisdiction's specification |
Notice that only one of the four is about the pipe, and it is the cheapest one to change. That is why a diameter on its own is not enough to price a pipeline, and why an estimate built from a single number per foot is usually wrong.
C 4.0 Worked through
The same 2,000 feet, twice
Two thousand linear feet of eight-inch gravity sewer, identical pipe, identical town. Built from this sheet, with nothing added and nothing hidden.
| Item | Easy case | Hard case |
|---|---|---|
| Conditions | 10′ deep, dry, undeveloped corridor, gravel surface | 16′ deep, groundwater, congested residential street, asphalt |
| Pipe, 2,000 LF | $420,000 at $210/LF | $1,000,000 at $500/LF |
| Manholes, 5 EA | $39,000 at $7,800/EA | $92,500 at $18,500/EA |
| Service reconnections | none | $96,000 24 EA at $4,000 |
| Restoration | $12,000 gravel and seed | $188,000 asphalt and flatwork |
| Traffic control | none | $54,000 45 DAY at $1,200 |
| Dewatering | none | $81,000 45 DAY at $1,800 |
| Order of magnitude | $471,000 | $1,511,500 |
Same pipe, same length, same town, and a spread of more than three to one. Neither column is padded and neither is a bid. Both are arithmetic done on the sheet above, which is precisely the arithmetic we would rather you were able to do before the first meeting than after the bids come in. Add engineering, permitting, bonds, insurance and tax on top of either column.
C 5.0 Questions
Questions about the prices
The general questions — bidding, bonding, insurance, weather days, pay applications, retainage — are on the FAQ page. The commercial terms are in the payment and cancellation policy.
Why publish prices at all? Nobody else in this trade does.
Because a utility district cannot ask its board for money it cannot name, and the usual answer — call us for a quote — is useless at the point where the decision actually gets made. A public works director sizing a project two budget cycles out needs an order of magnitude before there is a drawing to bid. Publishing ranges with a stated basis is more useful than a number nobody will say out loud, and it costs us nothing we were not going to tell you in the first meeting anyway.
How wide are these ranges, really?
Wide, on purpose, and the width is information. An eight-inch water main between $185 and $310 a foot is not vagueness; it is the honest spread between a shallow line in dry ground in open field and the same pipe deep, wet, and threading between existing utilities under an arterial. A narrower published number would be less true, not more useful. Give us the depth, the groundwater and the surface and the range collapses quickly.
What actually moves a unit price the most?
Four things, roughly in order. Depth, because past about twelve feet the trench needs an engineered support system and production per day falls sharply. Groundwater, because dewatering changes the method and adds a day rate. Congestion, because a line threading between existing utilities advances at a fraction of open-field speed. And the surface, because replacing arterial pavement with staged traffic control costs more than replacing a field. The pipe itself is rarely the main number.
Why do some lines say "site visit" instead of a price?
Because publishing a number for them would be dishonest. A tie-in to a live main or a live sewer is priced from the plant, at the plant, with the operators present: what carries the flow, what the fallback is, what season it can be done in, how long the window is and what happens if it overruns. Those are not attributes of the pipe, they are attributes of your system, and no web page knows them.
What is not in these prices?
Engineering, surveying, permitting, bonds and insurance, owner-furnished materials, easement and right-of-way acquisition, and any applicable tax. They also assume normal access and no undisclosed site conditions. On a public project the bonds and insurance alone are a real percentage, and it is better to carry them as their own line in your budget than to be surprised by them inside somebody's unit price.
Are these your bid prices?
No, and that distinction matters. These are planning ranges for this class of work in this market, published so a district can size a project before it spends money on design. A bid is a fixed price against a defined scope, a schedule, a set of drawings and a specification, and it is a commitment. If you need a commitment, you need a bid or a proposal, and those come from documents rather than from a table.
Does self-performing the work make it cheaper?
Sometimes, and reliably it makes it more predictable, which on a live plant is worth more. When the excavation, the concrete, the pipe and the site work all belong to one firm, the sequence compresses to what the work needs instead of to what four schedules can agree on, and there is nobody to argue with about whose delay it was. What it genuinely removes is subcontractor mark-up and the coordination float that gets built in to cover somebody else's crew not turning up. See what we self-perform.
How often are these reviewed?
They carry a review date, and the date is on the page rather than buried in a footer. Material and labour costs in this trade have moved sharply in recent years and a price sheet without a date on it is worse than no price sheet. If the date above is more than a year old, telephone and ask what has moved — we will tell you.
Give us four numbers and the range narrows
Length, depth, groundwater, surface. With those four we can tell you on the telephone which end of each range you are at, what has to be defined before anyone can bid it, and what the sequence would have to look like if the facility has to stay in service throughout.
RN Civil Construction, LLC · 6025 S Quebec St, Englewood, CO 80111