Sewer Camera Inspection in Idaho Springs, CO

The local picture

Idaho Springs was founded in 1859 and is the largest community in Clear Creek County, strung along I-70, Clear Creek and Chicago Creek, with a historic downtown on Miner Street, tourist businesses on the east end and mostly residential streets on the west end. The City runs its own public water system. Our fact sheet does not identify the sewer provider or where the City's responsibility for sewer ends, so check your utility bill, or call the City at 303-567-4421, before calling anyone about a problem in a public main.

What we can say is how the town's setting tends to affect drain lines. Older homes can have building sewers that have been in the ground for generations, where joints loosen and roots work in. Narrow canyon lots and slopes put stress on buried pipe, and hard mountain freezes can shift soil around a line that already has a weak spot. A camera turns all of that into a specific finding at a measured distance.

Weighing the options

Signs to watch

• The lowest drain in the house backs up during laundry
• Toilets gurgle when a tub drains
• Many drains slow together
• Sewage odor in a basement or crawlspace
• Backups after a cold snap

Timing and permits

Problems that start after a hard freeze are worth filming promptly, before thawing ground shifts things again. Root growth peaks in summer. If the camera shows a repair is needed, the City of Idaho Springs requires plumbing plans for changes to interior plumbing, and those plans must cover sewers, drains and vents along with water and gas piping. Submit permits by email to the City Clerk or in person at City Hall, 1711 Miner Street; SAFEbuilt reviews plans and does all inspections (303-450-8748, call by 3 p.m. the day before). When you call the number on this page, mention how old the house is and which drains are affected.