Diagnosis, not the repair
Sewer camera inspection in Aurora
A camera inspection is how you find out whether you need a cleaning, a spot repair, or a new service line. It is also the recording Aurora Water will look at, for free, if you are an Aurora resident and you are unsure what the plumber recommended.
What you are buying
You are buying a look inside the pipe, from a known point, with a copy you can keep. A useful visit names the access point, usually a cleanout, and records distance so a defect can be found again. It should show material, cracks, offsets, bellies, roots, and grease, and it should say where the camera stopped. A verbal summary without the file is a weak basis for opening a street.
The City's service-line page says a video is the practical way to learn what the sewer line is made of and what condition it is in. It also says water service lines cannot be videotaped the same way. A camera quote for a yard water leak is the wrong tool. That decision lives on leak detection and water line repair.
Real estate, backups, and "while we're here"
A sale inspection and an emergency backup are different assignments. For a sale, you want the whole service line to the tap if the camera can reach it, because the owner is responsible for that run under Aurora's wastewater rules. For a backup, you want to know whether the line is blocked, broken, or both, and whether the city main is even involved. Sewer line repair should follow the recording, not the other way around.
If the company offers to jet before anyone has seen the pipe, read hydro-jetting first. Jetting is sometimes the right cleaning. It is not how you discover a collapse.
The City's second look
Aurora's wastewater page offers residents a free review of plumber video of the lateral or private service line. Staff will comment on suggestions and next steps. The page says customers usually get a YouTube link or an email file they can forward. Use the address published on that City page. This website does not take the file, and it is not Aurora Water. Details are on the second-opinion guide.
Ask the plumber, before the truck leaves, for the file format the City can actually open, the direction of travel, and a still or a timestamp at the tap if they reached it. A recording that never leaves the company van cannot be reviewed by anyone else.
Questions to settle first
What should the video include?
A copy you keep, the access point, distances, pipe material, and the defects in view: cracks, offsets, bellies, roots, or grease. It should say where the camera stopped and whether it reached the tap. A spoken summary without the file is not enough to open a street or to send to Aurora Water.
Can Aurora Water review the footage?
Yes, for Aurora residents, as a free second opinion on the wastewater page. You forward the plumber's video to the address that page publishes. Staff comment on the line. They are not hiring the plumber and this website does not upload anything for you. Read the second-opinion guide before you send a file.
Will a camera see a water-line leak?
Not the pressurized water service. The City says water service lines cannot be videotaped. A sewer camera belongs in the drain line. A wet yard or a hissing meter question needs a different location method, described on the leak-detection page, before anyone cuts the street.
Is the camera visit the repair?
No. The recording sorts cleaning, a spot repair, and replacement. Approving a liner or a dig from a sales sentence skips that sort. Keep the file, compare it with the written scope, and use the City review if you are unsure what you were told.