Hiring a Sewer Contractor in Aurora

What is under Aurora

Aurora's housing comes in bands that run roughly east from the Denver line. The original city near Colfax Avenue and Fitzsimons dates from the 1920s through the 1950s, with clay service lines and cast iron at the building. The postwar expansion of the 1960s and 1970s used clay, then concrete and early plastic. From the 1980s on, out past Buckley Space Force Base, the pipe is PVC. The soil is the constant. Aurora sits on the Denver and Dawson formations, which weather into bentonite-rich clay with a high swell potential. When that clay gets wet it expands with enough force to lift slabs and shear pipe; when it dries it shrinks and leaves voids that the pipe settles into. Clay-pipe joints open, concrete cracks, and even PVC bellies where the backfill was not compacted. Cottonwood, elm, and ash roots find the openings. Frost penetrates about three feet, so service lines are set below that and often run six to ten feet deep at the main. The sewer authority is Aurora Water, the city's utility, which owns the collection mains and sends wastewater to the regional treatment system in the metro area. Under the city code, the building owner owns the service line from the structure to the tap connection, including the tapping saddle on the main, and must keep it structurally sound. If the utility finds the line leaking groundwater in or wastewater out, it can order repairs on a deadline. The city may fix part of a line in the right-of-way at its own expense when that helps the system, but that is discretionary. Why it shapes the bid: depth, shoring, compaction in swelling clay, and the tap being on your side of the line all belong in the price.

Permits and the lateral in Aurora

Aurora splits the permit by distance from the house. The portion of the service line within five feet of the building, plus the building drain, falls under the building permit issued by the city's Building Division. From five feet outside the building to the connection at the main, the work needs a public improvement permit issued through the Public Works Department, with a fee due at filing. No one may uncover, connect to, alter, or disturb a public sewer without a written city permit. The applicant must notify Public Works when the line is ready to be inspected, and any connection to the main is made under the supervision of an Aurora Water representative. Street or sidewalk excavation falls under the same process, with city traffic control and restoration requirements. Colorado 811 must be contacted before digging. The responsibility line is the tap on the main, so the owner is accountable for the full length, including any part in the street.

Statewide licensing, permit and ownership rules are on the Colorado hiring guide.

Hiring well in Aurora

Any bid for a sewer service line in Aurora should begin with a camera run from a cleanout, and if the house has no exterior cleanout, adding one belongs on the first line. The bid should list both permits, the Building Division permit for the first five feet and the Public Works public improvement permit for the rest, and state who files them. It should give the expected depth at the deepest point and the shoring method, because trench walls in dry Denver clay look solid right up until they fail. Backfill should be specified, with compaction in lifts, since loosely backfilled clay will settle under a driveway for years. If pipe bursting or lining is proposed, the bid should state the footage, describe how the new pipe meets the tap, and include a post-installation video. If the tap or saddle is being disturbed, the bid should say that an Aurora Water representative will be present. Red flags particular to Aurora: a contractor who says the city owns the pipe under the street; a quote without a camera; no mention of shoring on a trench that will reach eight feet; a proposal to backfill with the excavated clay and no compaction plan; and no Colorado plumbing contractor or Aurora contractor license on the proposal.

A vetted sewer contractor for Aurora

Sewer repair, lining, bursting and replacement in Aurora are performed by Front Range sewer lining crews, covering Denver, Boulder and the Front Range. Licensing, completed work and equipment were checked before the listing went live, and every bid starts with a recorded camera inspection.

Estimates are free. Call now. (720) 606-6223

Aurora sewer contractor questions

Who owns the sewer service line under the street in Aurora, Colorado?

The property owner does, by city code. Aurora's ordinance states that the building owner owns the service line from the building to the tap connection on the public main, including the tapping saddle, and is responsible for maintaining and repairing it. Aurora Water may choose to repair a segment in the right-of-way at its own expense when that benefits the system, but it is not required to, so plan on the full length being yours.

Why does Aurora require two different permits for one sewer line repair?

Because the city treats the line as two pieces. The building drain and the first five feet outside the foundation are plumbing, covered by a building permit from the Building Division. Beyond five feet, out to the main, the pipe is treated as public improvement work and needs a permit from Public Works, with an inspection before cover and Aurora Water supervision at the connection. A repair that crosses the five-foot mark needs both.

What does Aurora's expansive clay do to a sewer line, and how should a bid account for it?

The clay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and that cycle shears joints, cracks rigid pipe, and settles poorly compacted trenches. A good Aurora bid names the shoring method for a deep trench, specifies imported or moisture-conditioned backfill compacted in lifts, and prices restoration separately. Trenchless methods such as bursting or lining avoid most of the trench, which is why they are often proposed here when the camera shows the pipe is a candidate.

Sources checked for this page: aurora.municipal.codes/Code/138-262 · auroragov.org/residents/water/wastewater