# Sewer and Water Line Services in Aurora, Colorado

Aurora is the one city in the metro where a single utility owns both sides of the job. Aurora Water runs the drinking water system and the sanitary sewer system, so a water tap and a sewer tap on the same address go through the same authority rather than through a water utility on one side and a county district on the other. For anyone who has fought a two-agency permit sequence in a neighboring jurisdiction, that is a meaningful difference in how a project schedules.

The underground itself is anything but uniform, because Aurora was built in at least three distinct waves. Original Aurora along the East Colfax corridor and around the old Fitzsimons campus dates to the 1920s through the 1950s and carries clay laterals and cast iron water services. The enormous 1960s through 1980s expansion south and east brought cast iron, early PVC, and the Orangeburg that was still being installed into the early 1970s. Everything past E-470 is comparatively young: PVC sewer, copper and PEX supply, and failures that are almost always installation or ground movement rather than age.

Soil drives the rest. Large parts of eastern Aurora sit on expansive clay that swells and shrinks with moisture, and that movement is what pulls joints apart and puts bellies in laterals that were laid correctly. We see far more grade problems here than in the older close-in Denver neighborhoods, and grade problems change the repair recommendation. A line that has lost its slope cannot be fixed by lining it.

Aurora also has long service runs. Lots are deeper, setbacks are larger, and a sewer lateral that would be forty feet in a Denver bungalow is regularly ninety feet or more here. That affects cleanout placement, camera access, and whether a trenchless method is even reachable from the ends. We measure it rather than estimate it.

Denver Sewer and Water covers all of Aurora, from the older north end through the Southlands and Murphy Creek side. We scope before we quote, we pull the Aurora permits ourselves, and we schedule the inspection rather than leaving it to you.

## Permits and Authority in Aurora

Aurora Water is the permitting and inspection authority for both water and sanitary sewer connections inside the city. Tap fees and system development charges are set by the city and are driven by meter size and use classification, not by how far your line runs.

Street, alley, and sidewalk cuts are handled through Aurora's public works right-of-way process, and a traffic control plan is required on the arterials. Because Aurora crosses three counties, a property on the fringe can fall outside city utility service and into a special district, and we confirm which one you are in before quoting rather than after.

- Water and sanitary sewer authority: Aurora Water, a city-owned utility.
- One utility for both taps, which shortens the approval sequence compared to most of the metro.
- Right-of-way cuts and traffic control: City of Aurora public works.
- Fringe addresses may sit in a separate water and sanitation district. We verify service area first.

## Tap and permit notes

- Water and sewer tap applications go to the same utility, so the two approvals can be sequenced together instead of chased separately.
- Tap sizing is driven by fixture count and use classification. Oversizing a commercial tap is an expensive way to be safe, and we size it from the load.
- Sanitary connections must be inspected before backfill. On the long lots here that can mean holding an open trench, so we schedule the inspection against the dig rather than after it.
- Arterial and collector street cuts require traffic control. On East Colfax, Havana, and the Parker Road corridor that is a scheduling factor, not a formality.

## Typical pipe era

- 1920s to 1950s in original Aurora and around the old Fitzsimons campus: vitrified clay sewer, cast iron and galvanized supply.
- 1960s to early 1970s expansion: cast iron, early PVC, and Orangeburg laterals that deform under load.
- 1970s to 1990s: PVC and ABS sewer with copper supply, generally sound but vulnerable to soil movement.
- Post-2000 southeast Aurora: PVC sewer, copper and PEX supply, with failures tied to installation and settlement rather than material age.

## Common failure modes

- Bellies and lost grade from expansive clay soil, most common in the 1970s and 1980s subdivisions.
- Orangeburg laterals collapsing into an oval and holding solids.
- Root intrusion at clay joints in the older north end.
- Long-run laterals that were never given a cleanout, forcing access through the roof vent or a pulled toilet.
- Cast iron water services pinholing after long exposure to wet clay.
- Settlement cracks at the foundation penetration in newer construction.

## Areas served

- Original Aurora and East Colfax
- Fitzsimons and Anschutz
- Del Mar Park
- Village East
- Hoffman Heights
- Southlands
- Murphy Creek
- Tollgate Crossing
- Saddle Rock

## Response time

We run Aurora daily. North and central Aurora are typically a thirty minute response for emergency line failures, and the southeast side past E-470 runs longer. We give you a real window when you call, not a slogan.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Aurora handle water and sewer permits through the same office?**

Yes. Aurora Water is a city-owned utility that runs both the drinking water system and the sanitary sewer system, so both taps are permitted and inspected by the same authority. That is unusual in this metro and it generally makes an Aurora project schedule more predictably than the same job in a jurisdiction where a water utility and a sanitation district each control one half.

**Why do so many Aurora sewer lines have bellies?**

Expansive clay soil. Large areas of Aurora sit on soil that swells when it takes on moisture and shrinks when it dries, and that cycle moves the bedding under a pipe that was laid perfectly. The result is a sag that holds water and solids. A camera with a level sonde tells us how deep the belly is and whether it is actually the cause of your backups, because not every belly needs to be dug.

**My house is from 1968. Could I have Orangeburg?**

It is possible and worth checking. Orangeburg, a bituminized fiber conduit, was installed into the early 1970s and appears in Aurora's expansion-era neighborhoods. It fails by deforming into an oval rather than by cracking, so it can pass a flow test and still be near the end of its life. A camera identifies it immediately by the material's texture and the shape of the bore.

**My lot is deep. Does the length of the lateral change the repair options?**

It does. Trenchless methods need reachable access at both ends, and on a ninety or hundred foot Aurora lateral that sometimes means adding an access pit mid-run. Length also affects cleaning: a long run with no cleanout is harder and slower to clear. We measure the run and locate the existing access before we commit to a method.

**Is my Aurora address definitely served by Aurora Water?**

Not always. Aurora spans Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties and its boundary interleaves with unincorporated county and with special districts. A few fringe addresses with an Aurora mailing address are served by a separate water and sanitation district with its own tap fees and inspection rules. We confirm the actual service provider before quoting, because getting that wrong changes both the price and the process.

**Do you do commercial and multifamily work in Aurora?**

Yes. We handle commercial sewer and water taps, fire line taps, and storm drain work across Aurora, including the corridors around Anschutz and the retail development on the southeast side. Commercial work brings backflow requirements and use-classification questions into the tap sizing, and we handle that as part of the application rather than leaving it to your general contractor.

**How fast can you reach Aurora for an emergency?**

Our yard is in southwest Denver, so north and central Aurora are a straightforward run and the far southeast side is longer. We will tell you an honest arrival window when you call rather than a number designed to keep you on the phone. Call (720) 935-6221.

**Can a line under an Aurora arterial be repaired without closing lanes?**

Sometimes. Trenchless rehabilitation from access pits on either side of the pavement avoids opening the roadway, which on Havana or Parker Road is worth real money in traffic control alone. Whether it is possible depends on what the camera shows and on how deep the line sits. Where the roadway has to be opened, the traffic control plan is part of the permit and part of the quote.

**Do you offer sewer scopes for Aurora home purchases?**

Yes, and in the expansion-era neighborhoods it is genuinely useful. A scope tells you the material, whether there is Orangeburg in the run, and whether the line holds grade. Those three answers separate a routine purchase from one that needs a repair negotiated into the contract.

**Do you work on septic systems in the unincorporated areas near Aurora?**

Yes, for the excavation-scale work: system repair, line replacement, and failed component work in the areas east and south of the city limits that are not on city sewer. Routine pumping, cleaning, and inspections are handled by Affordable Septic Pumping, our sister company in the same family of companies.

## Nearby service areas

- [Centennial](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/locations/centennial-co)
- [Foxfield](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/locations/foxfield-co)
- [Parker](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/locations/parker-co)
- [Commerce City](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/locations/commerce-city-co)
- [Henderson](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/locations/henderson-co)
- [Glendale](https://www.denversewerandwater.com/locations/glendale-co)

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Denver Sewer and Water is a privately owned, licensed and insured plumbing contractor. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Denver Water, the municipal water utility, or any government entity. To pay a municipal water bill or reach the public utility, visit denverwater.org.

Source: https://www.denversewerandwater.com/locations/aurora-co