Emergency Plumber in Boulder, CO

Call right away if you see

• Water spraying from a pipe, valve or appliance hose
• Sewage or gray water coming up through a basement drain or tub
• A water heater tank that is leaking onto the floor
• A ceiling that is stained, sagging or dripping
• A sudden, steady hiss inside a wall after a hard freeze
• No water at all in the house while neighbors have pressure

A dripping faucet or a slow tub drain is not an emergency and can wait for a weekday. If you are unsure, it is better to shut the water off and ask.

How Boulder's system is set up

The City of Boulder operates its own public water system and its own sewer system, with wastewater treated at the Boulder Water Resource Recovery Facility before it returns to Boulder Creek. Only city personnel may open meter pits, so if you cannot close your house valve, call the city's after-hours line at 303-441-3200 to have the water turned off. City code makes water customers responsible for the area between their meter pit and the street.

Boulder disinfects with chlorine rather than chloramine and runs a corrosion control program. Its service line inventory found no lead service lines, though owners of homes built before 1956 are encouraged to check their pipe material on the city's online map. In any older house, original valves and drain piping are the parts most likely to be tired.

Cost factors

• When you call. Evening, weekend and holiday visits usually cost more.
• Reaching the problem. Finished basements and tiled walls take longer to open and close.
• Scope. A loose fitting is minor; a failed tank or a broken drain line is a larger repair.
• Permits. Boulder's Planning and Development Services exempts minor work such as clearing a stoppage or repairing a leak, but replacing concealed drain or supply piping counts as new work and needs a permit, as does a water heater.

What the call looks like

You will be connected with an independent plumber who works in Boulder. Explain what failed, whether the water is off and where you are. Ask how after-hours work is priced before the plumber heads out. No arrival time is promised; it depends on the hour and the plumber's workload.