Emergency Sewer Repair in Fort Collins & Loveland

What to do while you wait

Stop using water, keep people and pets away from any sewage, and stay out of flooded rooms with outlets, a furnace or a water heater. Call your utility so it can check the main; in Fort Collins, that is Fort Collins Utilities at 970-221-6700. Take photos before anything is cleaned. Our sewer backup checklist covers each step and safe cleanup.

How we handle an emergency sewer repair

1. Scheduling. Tell us what is happening. Active sewage backups are scheduled first.
2. Restore flow where we can. A cable machine can often open a path through a blockage or partial collapse, so the house drains while the repair is planned. We jet only when the pipe can take it.
3. Find the failure with a camera. The video shows what failed and how badly: a collapse, a broken or separated joint, a crushed section, a sag or a root mass. About sewer camera inspections.
4. Locate and mark it. A transmitter in the camera head marks the position and depth on the ground, so any digging is a targeted pit, not a trench.
5. Make it safe in the meantime. Depending on the failure, that can mean capping an open pipe, fencing off a hole, limiting water use or a temporary bypass.
6. Written quote, permits and locates. You get a written, itemized quote for the permanent fix. We pull the permits, request the 811 locates and schedule the inspection.
7. Permanent repair, followed by a final camera video of the finished line.

Every job is done by licensed sewer technicians and covered by liability insurance.

Fixing a broken or collapsed sewer line

The camera decides which repairs will work:

Repair	When it fits	Digging
Spot repair	One collapse, break or root-entry point in sound pipe	One pit at the damage
Pipe bursting	Cracked or broken pipe on a straight run, if the bursting head can pass	A pit at each end
Pipe lining (CIPP)	Cracked, leaking or rooty pipe that still holds its shape	Usually the cleanout or one small pit
Open-trench replacement	Collapse along the run, sags, wrong slope or Orangeburg	A trench along the damaged section

A liner needs continuous pipe to cure against, so it cannot bridge a collapse or fix a sag. A repair can also combine methods: dig out the collapse, then line the rest or burst in new HDPE pipe. Read more about pipe bursting, sewer pipe lining and sewer line replacement.

For scale, This Old House’s 2026 guide (based on Angi data) puts an average sewer line replacement at $3,320, with most homeowners paying $1,390 to $5,320, excavation at $50 to $200 per foot and trenchless work at $60 to $250 per foot.

Why the cause matters for insurance

Claims often turn on what caused the failure. Homeowners policies usually exclude wear and tear, roots and age, and sewer backup damage usually needs a water backup endorsement. Sudden damage may be treated differently, depending on the policy. If someone else’s digging broke the line, their liability coverage may come into play. Build a record from the start:

• Photos and video of the damage, before cleanup
• The camera video and written summary showing what failed and where
• A written, itemized invoice that separates the pipe repair from cleanup and restoration

Call your insurer early. Our guide to homeowners insurance and sewer lines explains the endorsements.

Permits for emergency sewer work

In Fort Collins, clearing a stoppage and stopping a leak are exempt from a plumbing permit, so restoring flow does not wait on paperwork. Replacing concealed pipe is new work that needs a permit, at $65 plus sales tax on the project valuation. Other towns and sanitation districts set their own rules. Even in an emergency, digging starts with an 811 locate request so gas, electric and communication lines are marked.