Sewer service line · Aurora, Colorado
Sewer line repair in Aurora
A backup, a soggy yard, or a camera still of a broken pipe is a different job from a slow bathroom sink. In Aurora the first split is simple and expensive: the city main is Aurora Water's, and the service line from that main to the building is yours, including the connection and the street repair.
Which pipe is actually failing
Inside the house, a single slow fixture is often a branch clog. Drain cleaning is the page for that. When several fixtures drain together, a lower-level shower or floor drain fills, or sewage comes back only at the bottom of the house, the problem may be the service line that leaves the building. Aurora Water's wastewater page says that lateral, from the sewer tap to the service address, is the owner's to maintain, along with the plumbing inside the building.
The same page says Aurora Water maintains the city main and the manholes, in streets, alleys, and easements. It also says a common misconception is that the utility will make the repair and pay the damage. It will not, when the break is on the owner's service line or at the tap. The owner's list includes the tee or saddle where the service meets the main, and the street or property repair if that work disturbs them. Call 811 to locate the service line and tap. Aurora Water locates the city main.
What should be known before anyone names a method
Spot repair, a liner, a burst, or a full replacement are not interchangeable. A liner needs a pipe that can hold it. A collapse, a bad belly, or an offset joint can rule a method out. Clay pipe, which the City says is possible on homes built before 1985, fails differently from the PVC it says is typical later. That year is a hint, not a diagnosis. The service-line page says the useful step is a video of the actual line. Start with what the video needs to show, then decide.
Hydro-jetting can clear roots and grease. It is a cleaning method. On a cracked clay line it can also open the crack. Ask for the video before you accept jetting as the repair, and do not treat a city jet truck working the main in the street as proof that your service line was cleaned. The wastewater page describes gurgling in toilets while the city jets its own main. That can be normal pressure in the main. A backup that stays after the truck leaves is a different problem.
What changes the price without inventing one
This guide does not estimate dollars. The scope items that move an Aurora quote are concrete. Depth and length of the run. Whether the break is under a slab, a yard, or the public street. Whether the tap itself is being replaced. Who patches asphalt, curb, and sidewalk. Whether a cleanout has to be added so the next cleaning does not mean another dig. Access for the machine. Restoration of landscaping. And whether the quote is to clean a blockage, to repair a joint, or to replace the run.
If sewage is backing up now, Aurora Water says to call a plumber and to call Aurora Water at 303-326-8645, and to call your insurance company for direction. That city number is Aurora Water's, not a line for this website, and it is not a click-to-call link here. Insurance may or may not cover a service line. The City says coverage varies and tells owners to read the policy. This page does not tell you that a plan will pay.
After a plumber videos the line, Aurora residents can ask the City for a free second look. That offer, and what to hand over, is on the camera second-opinion guide. We do not submit footage and we are not the City.
Questions that keep the quote honest
Ask where the defect sits relative to the building, the cleanout, and the tap. Ask who owns that segment under Aurora Water's description, not under a rule from another city. Ask which method the video supports, and which methods it rules out. Ask whether street restoration is included. Ask for a copy of the video you can forward. The full ownership write-up is the sewer responsibility guide. A pressurized water leak in the yard is a water service line, not this pipe.
Questions to settle first
Does Aurora Water repair the line from the house to the main?
No. The City's wastewater page says the owner maintains the service line from the sewer tap to the building, including the tee or saddle and related street or property damage. Aurora Water maintains the city main and manholes. A backup at a floor drain can still be on your line. Confirm the location on video before you treat the bill as the City's.
Should I approve trenchless work from a description alone?
No. A liner or a burst depends on the pipe that is already in the ground. Clay, a collapse, or a separated joint can make a method a bad fit. Ask for the video, the distance and depth, and a sentence on why that method matches this pipe. The City's free footage review is a second opinion, not a substitute for the recording itself.
The city truck was on my street. Is my backup their problem?
Not by itself. Aurora Water jets and cameras its own mains, and it warns that a jet in the main can gurgle household traps. That is not a repair of your service line. If sewage remains after the main is clear, the service line is still the owner's. Ask whether the main was inspected and where your tap connects.
Who pays if the repair cuts the street?
If the cut is for your service line or tap, the wastewater page assigns the associated street and property damage to the owner. Ask the quote to name patching, curb, sidewalk, and landscape, and to say what is excluded. 811 locates the service. Aurora Water locates the city main. Do not dig from a guess.
Is a house built before 1985 automatically a clay-pipe replacement?
No. The City says older homes can have clay and later homes generally have PVC, and that the line still has to be seen. A year of construction is a reason to video the pipe, not a reason to replace it. Get the material and the defects from the recording, then compare repair and replacement on that evidence.