Storm Drain Cleanout and Sediment Removal in Denver
An independent, licensed plumbing contractor. Not affiliated with Denver Water or the City and County of Denver.
A storm drain cleanout removes the accumulated silt, gravel, leaf mass, and root growth that has collected in a private storm line, basin, or dry well. On storm systems the blockage is almost always mineral rather than organic, and that changes both the tooling and the amount of material that has to come out of the ground.
- Silt, sand, gravel, and leaf mass removal.
- Catch basin and sump clearing.
- Root cutting at joints and fittings.
- Camera verification after the clean.
- Material removed rather than pushed downstream.
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What Actually Blocks a Storm Drain?
Grit and sand from paving, decomposed granite from landscape beds, roof grit from asphalt shingles, and the fine soil that washes off any bare ground during a storm. That material arrives suspended, travels while the water is moving fast, and settles the moment the flow slows down, which is why it accumulates in the flattest section of the run.
Leaf mass is the seasonal contributor and root growth is the structural one. Roots find storm joints for the same reason they find sanitary joints: there is water there. Once a root mass establishes at a joint, it acts as a strainer and collects everything the water was carrying.
(720) 935-6221Common storm blockage material
- Silt, sand, and grit settled in flat sections.
- Decomposed granite washed in from landscape beds.
- Gravel and rock washed into open grates.
- Leaf and needle mass, especially in autumn.
- Root masses at joints and basin penetrations.
- Construction debris left in the line at installation.
How We Diagnose It
Why Cleaning Alone Sometimes Does Not Hold
Cleaning restores the pipe to its design capacity. If the design was sound and the sediment load was a one-off, that lasts. If the run has lost grade, cleaning resets a clock rather than solving anything, because the same flat section will collect the same material during the next few storms.
So the camera goes back in after the clean. If the run holds standing water once it is clear, that is the finding that matters and we will tell you the cleaning bought a season. The next conversation is re-grading or replacement of that section.
Cleaning is a repeat visit when
- The run holds standing water once cleared.
- A landscape bed keeps delivering fine material into an open grate.
- A crushed section is trapping sediment upstream of it.
- The discharge point is restricted and slowing everything above it.
How a Storm Cleanout Runs
- 1
Open and clear the basins
Basins and sumps are emptied first. Cleaning the pipe while the basin above it is full of grit just refills the pipe.
- 2
Clear the run
Jetting, vacuum extraction, or cable work depending on the material and the pipe. Sediment is pulled back and removed, not driven to the outfall.
- 3
Clear the discharge
The outfall or connection point is opened and confirmed clear. A clean pipe into a blocked outfall drains nothing.
- 4
Camera and report
Post-clean camera run showing bare pipe, plus any grade problem the sediment was concealing.
What Denver Customers Say About Working With Us
“Denver Sewer and Water was a great experience. We had been out of water due to a water main leak into the house for 2 weeks. They came out, gave a go”
“We had an underground water valve break on a Saturday. No fun and expensive to fix regardless of the repair company. Nevertheless, greatly apprecia”
“Very direct and to the point. Extremely efficient and professional.”
What Drives Storm Cleanout Cost
Volume of material and length of run set most of it. A storm system that has never been cleaned can hold a genuinely surprising quantity of sediment, and that material has to be extracted and disposed of rather than simply moved along.
Access is the other factor. Basins with removable grates make this straightforward. Buried junctions with no access point mean digging before cleaning.
Call (720) 935-6221 for a survey and clean.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Get the sediment out before the next storm
Basins, run, and discharge, all three. Call (720) 935-6221.