Yes, a broken sewer line is an emergency in Aurora. Raw sewage carries bacteria and gases that can make your family sick, and in Aurora, the repair is almost always on you. The city maintains the main line in the street, but the sewer service line that runs from your home out to that main is the homeowner’s responsibility.
When you smell sewage near the house, see wastewater backing up into a basement drain, or find a soggy patch in the yard, that is not something you can wait on, because it gets worse and more expensive every day you leave it alone.
A cracked or collapsed line does not stay small for long. Once the pipe fails under your yard or foundation, sewage seeps into the soil while gases work their way back into the house through the same path, so what starts as a faint smell can turn into a full backup into your lowest drain. In Aurora it comes down to what is under your feet. Our expansive bentonite clay soil swells when it gets wet and shrinks when it dries out, and that constant push and pull pulls older pipe joints apart. Throw in harsh freeze-thaw winters that stress buried pipe, and a small crack has plenty of help turning into a big break. Treating it like an emergency here is simply how these lines actually fail.
The age of Aurora’s homes adds another layer. Houses built before 1985 often have clay sewer service lines that break down over time, while homes built after 1985 usually have more durable PVC. If your home is older and sits near mature trees, your buried line is exactly the kind that cracks, separates, and lets roots in, which is why moving fast makes sense rather than being paranoid.
Can you get sick from a broken sewer line?
Yes, you can. A broken sewer line releases raw sewage that carries bacteria, viruses, and gases that affect your health. Contact with contaminated water, or even breathing the air near a backup, can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, and more serious infections, and exposure to raw sewage is linked to illnesses like gastroenteritis, hepatitis A, and other bacterial diseases.
The gases are the part that catches people off guard. Sewer gas contains hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs at first, but at higher concentrations it can actually deaden your sense of smell, so you stop noticing it right when it gets more dangerous. Steady exposure to low levels can bring on headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Sewer lines can also leak methane, which is not toxic to breathe but displaces oxygen in tight, poorly ventilated spaces.
That last point matters in Aurora, where a lot of homes have finished basements and crawlspaces. Those low, enclosed areas are exactly where gas and moisture collect, and kids, older adults, and anyone with asthma or a weak immune system tend to feel it first. This is not a job to hand to a handyman.
What causes a sewer line to break?
Most sewer line breaks in Aurora come from a handful of causes, and the ground here drives several of them. The big three are tree roots, aging pipe material, and soil movement.
- Tree roots. Roots chase the moisture leaking from a small joint gap. Aurora has plenty of mature trees, and once a hair-thin root finds a crack, it grows into a mat that blocks and eventually widens the break.
- Old pipe material. Homes built before 1985 often run clay sewer laterals, which degrade and crack over time. Cast iron corrodes too.
- Expansive clay soil. Aurora’s bentonite clay swells and shrinks with moisture. That movement works pipe joints apart and can crack brittle sections.
- Freeze-thaw cycles. Our high-elevation winters swing hard between freezing and thawing, and that stress on buried pipe adds up.
- Grease and debris. Fats, oils, and so-called flushable wipes build into blockages that no store-bought cleaner will clear.
Figuring out the real cause is the first step, and it usually takes a camera to confirm.
What is the best way to repair a broken sewer pipe?
The best repair depends on where the break is, how bad it is, and how old the line is, so it starts with a camera inspection to confirm the exact spot and cause. Guessing just wastes money, while a quick scope tells you whether you need a small spot repair or a full replacement. A proper sewer inspection in Aurora pays for itself before any digging even starts.
From there you generally have two paths. Traditional excavation digs up the damaged section and replaces it, and it works well, but it means opening up your yard, driveway, or concrete and then restoring all of it afterward. Trenchless methods like pipe lining and pipe bursting repair or replace the line from small access points with far less surface digging, and for an Aurora home with mature landscaping or a concrete driveway, trenchless often comes out ahead once you add up the restoration costs.
There is one more Aurora detail worth knowing. Because the service line is yours all the way to the city main, a major repair that ties into that main needs proper permitting and a licensed plumber, so this is not unlicensed handyman work. A big job may also mean cutting concrete, which is why dust control and cleanup matter.
How much does a broken sewer line cost?
In the Denver and Aurora metro area, minor sewer fixes like snaking or a small spot repair can start around a few hundred dollars, but repairs commonly run into the mid-to-high thousands. A full sewer line replacement typically lands in the several-thousand-dollar range depending on length, depth, and method, often falling somewhere between roughly $3,500 and $15,000 or more, with many jobs averaging around $8,500. Per-foot pricing for sewer line work in this area generally runs from roughly $50 to $250 or more per linear foot, and trenchless work often costs less than traditional dig-and-replace once you factor in restoring your yard and concrete.
A few things move the number in Aurora specifically, including how deep the line sits, how long the damaged run is, whether it crosses a driveway, and the pipe material. A camera inspection to pinpoint the problem is a small, worthwhile cost before you commit to a fix.
Here is one more budgeting note for homeowners. Many standard insurance policies exclude sewer backup damage unless you have added a specific endorsement, so check your policy before you need it. A free on-site estimate is the way to get a real number for your home rather than a national average.
If You Have a Broken Sewer Line in Aurora, Here’s How We Can Help
A broken sewer line in Aurora is a real emergency, both for your family’s health and for the pipe itself, which keeps getting worse as our clay soil and freeze-thaw winters work on it. At Superior Mile High Plumbing, we personally oversee every sewer line repair in Aurora, and we start by scoping your line to find the exact break before we recommend the right fix. You get free on-site estimates, upfront flat-rate pricing, and 24/7 emergency availability from us, so you are never left waiting when sewage is backing up. Call Superior Mile High Plumbing at (303) 304-0784 and we will get out to inspect your line and fix it right.