24/7 Emergency Line Open
Boulder, CO Plumbing Repair and Installation
From the Arapahoe Avenue corridor to the Gunbarrel office parks, Boulder calls reach one dispatch line. It is about a 20-minute drive from Longmont, and a plumber is sent once one is available.
- Licensed and insured plumbers
- Same-day service when available
- 24/7 emergency dispatch
Drain cleaning for Boulder homes and older sewer connections
Along Arapahoe Avenue and University Avenue the housing stock ranges from older bungalows to newer condos, and the drains behave accordingly. Slow tubs, gurgling toilets and a floor drain that smells point to a clog somewhere past the fixture. A plunger and a bucket handle one slow sink, while several slow fixtures at once call for a cable through the line.
The city's sewer rehabilitation program says about 70 percent of Boulder's sewers date from after World War II and are clay pipe. Clay joints let roots in, so repeated clogs in an older house are often a root problem, not a grease problem. The drain cleaning page explains cabling, jetting and when a camera is worth the trip.
Drain backing up in Boulder?
Stop running water and call the dispatch line. Say which fixtures are slow so the visit starts in the right place.
Sewer line repair and the owner's side of the pipe
The city states that a property owner is responsible for the sewer service line up to and including the connection to the city main. That is more than the pipe under the yard, since it includes the tap where the line joins the street. A break at that connection is the owner's repair, so a camera run that shows the exact spot is worth having before any dig.
For questions about the main itself, Boulder Utilities lists 303-441-3200. A plumber serving your area can record a video of the line and mark the depth of the problem, and the sewer line page compares spot repair, lining and full replacement.
| Finding on camera | What it usually means | Typical direction |
|---|---|---|
| Roots at a joint | Clay joint opened over time | Cut roots, then judge the pipe |
| Offset or broken section | Ground movement or age | Spot repair or replacement |
| Standing water in a low run | A belly in the pipe | Replace that section |
| Clean pipe, still backing up | Clog downstream | Check the main and contact the utility |
Slab leak detection in Boulder homes
First confirm what you have: a basement, a crawl space and a slab each hide pipes differently. A leak in a basement ceiling is a different search from a leak under a concrete floor. A warm spot on a floor, a spinning meter with everything off and the sound of running water at night are the signs worth reporting.
Electronic listening and thermal imaging narrow the search to a few feet before anyone opens a floor. The slab leak page describes the repair options, which include a reroute above the slab.
Tankless water heaters in Boulder
Tankless units suit homes that lack space for a tank, and the burner needs a vent path and a gas line sized to match. Because Boulder water is soft, with a city average of about 2.4 grains per gallon, scale builds slowly, though a descaling flush on the schedule in the manual still applies.
Error codes, a cold burst between hot flows and low flow at one tap are the usual calls. The tankless page lists the checks a plumber runs.
Water heater installation and replacement in Boulder
Leaks at the bottom of a tank end its life, and the choice is the same tank size, a larger tank or a switch to tankless. A new tank needs a drain pan where a leak could reach finished space, a relief valve piped to a safe spot and a vent that draws properly.
Ask for the old tank to be hauled away and for the work to be tested before the plumber leaves. The installation page also has the short boiler section.
Fixture repair in Boulder kitchens and baths
Dripping faucets, rocking toilets and weak shower flow are quick visits. Cartridges, flappers and supply lines cost little next to the water a drip wastes over a season, so do not let a small leak run. The fixture repair page lists the usual parts and the signs a fixture should be replaced.
Plumbing question in 80301 through 80314?
Describe the problem and the ZIP code, and the dispatcher will confirm what is available for your address.
Other Boulder jobs: repiping, damage, repair and leaks
Older houses sometimes need supply pipe replaced. The city's water service line inventory says about 5,000 structures were built before 1956, and a city ordinance required copper for lines after 1956. Replacing a failed run before it floods is cheaper than drying a ceiling, and the repiping page lists the choices.
After a pipe bursts, water damage work here means removing standing water and drying the structure. Mold testing and removal fall inside that scope, while rebuilding walls goes to a general contractor. The water damage page has the dispatch number for these calls.
A heater that will not light, no hot water or a pilot that keeps going out is a repair call. Gas work follows its own rules: any smell of gas means leave the house first, then call, as the gas line page explains. A hidden leak and a stuck garbage disposal are also routine, and the leak page and disposal page cover them.
- Water heater repair for tanks and tankless units
- Gas line work and appliance connections
- Leak detection and repair
- Garbage disposal repair and replacement
- Residential plumbing, plus the {a('commercial-plumbing','commercial plumbing page')} for shops and offices
Water softener and water filtration questions are mostly about whether a system is needed, and with soft city water the answer is often no.
Where Boulder water comes from and how soft it is
The city reports an average hardness of 42 mg/L, which is 2.4 grains per gallon and sits in the soft range. That makes scale less of a concern than in many Front Range towns, and a softener has little to remove.
Ownership of the pipes follows a simple line. The city owns the main to the meter, and the customer owns the line from the meter to the building. A leak before the meter goes to the city, and a leak after it is the homeowner's repair. The visiting plumber can tell you which side a problem is on.
Groundwater on a lot is the owner's responsibility, and the city prohibits private connections to the sanitary sewer. Drainage and waterproofing outside the foundation are a separate trade.
Neighborhoods, landmarks and places served
Boulder neighborhoods and landmarks inside the dispatch area
Dispatch reaches the main library at 1001 Arapahoe Avenue in 80302 and Folsom Field at 2095 University Avenue in 80309, which opened in 1924. In the north, Gunbarrel is a community in 80301 and 80503, named for Gunbarrel Road and strung along Highway 119, called the Diagonal. Tom Watson Park at 6180 63rd Street in Gunbarrel is another reference point.
Eleven Boulder ZIP codes served by this dispatch network are listed in the chips here.
- 80301
- 80302
- 80303
- 80304
- 80305
- 80306
- 80307
- 80308
- 80309
- 80310
- 80314
Neighboring towns with their own pages include Louisville, Lafayette and Jamestown.
After-hours plumbing emergencies in Boulder
A burst pipe at midnight or a sewer backup on a holiday uses the same number as a daytime call. The dispatch line is open 24/7, and the homepage emergency section lists safe first steps, including where to find the main shutoff.
What to do before a plumber arrives
Shut off water at the main for a burst pipe, keep drains unused for a backup and leave the house for any gas smell.
Sources for Boulder facts (checked 13 November 2026)
A plumber serving your area is one call away
Call the line any hour and name your ZIP code.
- Licensed and insured plumbers
- Same-day service when available
- 24/7 emergency dispatch