Drain Cleaning in Gilcrest, CO

Gilcrest homes and their sewer lines

Most homes in town are modest houses from the 1940s through the 1970s, with full or partial basements, clay or cast iron laterals and alley mains.

A smaller number of newer homes have been built since the 1990s with PVC lines. Manufactured homes are common in town and on rural lots.

Homes in town are on the town's sewer. Farmsteads around Gilcrest use septic, often in ground where the water table sits close to the surface.

Gilcrest drain problems

High groundwater is the local story. When the water table rises, it can seep into cracked laterals and push into basement floors, and it makes septic fields struggle. Roots from cottonwoods along the ditches find old clay joints, and winter cold freezes drains under manufactured homes.

What drain work usually costs in Gilcrest

Gilcrest's high groundwater

Gilcrest and nearby La Salle sit on flat ground in the South Platte valley, and the water table here has risen sharply in years when nearby irrigation wells were shut down or limited under the state's water rules. In wet stretches, groundwater has flooded basements, saturated septic fields and even damaged the liners of the town's own wastewater lagoons, which cost the town a large sum to repair. The state funded emergency dewatering wells in the area for a time. For homeowners, the result is that water in a Gilcrest basement isn't always a sewer problem.

Sewer backup or groundwater?

Telling the two apart matters. Sewer water is gray or brown, smells, and usually rises at the floor drain when fixtures upstairs are used. Groundwater is clear, has little smell, and seeps steadily through the floor, walls or floor drain regardless of what's running in the house. If it's sewage, a drain plumber clears the main line. If it's groundwater, the fixes are a sump pump, a backwater or check valve on the floor drain, and sealing cracks. Many Gilcrest basements have had both problems at different times.

Cracked laterals below the water table

When the water table rises above a cracked clay lateral, groundwater flows into the pipe, bringing fine sand and silt with it. Over time that sediment builds up in low spots and narrows the line. Clearing it with a cable often isn't enough, and hydro jetting does a better job of flushing the sand out. A camera inspection afterward shows where the cracks are, so you can decide whether to repair them before the next wet year.

Septic systems in a high water table

Farmsteads around Gilcrest rely on septic systems, and a septic field only works when the soil below it can absorb water. When groundwater rises close to the surface, the field fills and can't drain, and the household's drains slow or back up. Pumping the tank gives temporary relief. Cutting water use, spreading laundry across the week and keeping roof downspouts and irrigation water away from the field help the system cope until the water table drops.

Ditch banks and cottonwoods

Irrigation ditches run through and around Gilcrest, and cottonwoods line many of them. Those trees have steady water and wide-spreading roots. Homes with laterals near a ditch see more root intrusion than those farther away. Annual root cutting keeps many of those lines open.

If water appears in your Gilcrest basement

1. 01

   Check the smell and color

   Sewage means a drain plumber; clear water usually means groundwater.

2. 02

   Stop water use if it's sewage

   Don't flush or run water until the line is cleared.

3. 03

   Look at the floor drain

   A check valve or backwater valve can keep water from rising through it.

4. 04

   Document it

   Photos and dates help with repairs, insurance and any local programs.

Gilcrest drain warning signs

• Clear water seeping at the basement floor
• Sewage at the floor drain when the washer runs
• A septic field that stays soggy
• Sand in a cleared main line
• Sewer smell in the basement

Older homes and basements

Most homes in town were built from the 1940s through the 1970s, many with full or partial basements that were dry for decades before groundwater rose. Basements finished in drier years can be at risk now. If you're finishing a Gilcrest basement, plan for a sump, a check valve on the floor drain and an accessible cleanout before the walls go up.

Getting help in Gilcrest

Tell the plumber whether the water in your basement smells like sewage or looks clear, whether you're on town sewer or septic, and whether it has happened before. That helps them decide whether to bring a jetter, a camera or both, and whether your problem is something a drain plumber can fix.

Sump pumps and where they drain

Many Gilcrest basements now have sump pumps to handle groundwater. A sump pump should discharge outside, away from the house and the septic field, not into a floor drain, laundry sink or the sewer line. Pumping groundwater into the sewer overloads the line and the town's system, and pumping it near a septic field floods the field. If your sump discharges indoors, ask a plumber about rerouting it.

Farm families and big gatherings

Gilcrest is a close-knit farm community, and big family gatherings at harvest and holidays are part of life. A house full of people runs a lot of water through an old lateral or a septic system that may already be stressed by high groundwater. Spacing out laundry and dishwashing over several days, and scraping grease into the trash, help the system keep up.

Small town, short distances

Gilcrest is compact, and most homes in town sit within a few blocks of each other along US 85. That makes it easy for neighbors to compare notes. If several houses on your block have water in their basements at the same time, groundwater is the more likely cause than a single clogged lateral.