How to Drain a Broken Sewer Pipe

Determine where the pipe is broken and leaking. The broken part is usually under where water seeps out of the ground. In the case of a sewer line, more than likely the water is not clear and has a definite odor.

Call your city's government office and/or utility companies to schedule having utility workers mark with spray paint the location of all gas, electric, telephone, cable and other lines buried under the ground. If you dig and break a utility line that you did not request to be marked, you will owe the city or utility money.

Put on work gloves and safety glasses. Dig with a shovel until you expose the broken segment of pipe. Remove soil to clear at least 1 foot on each side of the pipe and at least several feet in each direction along the pipe. Check the broken pipe section to see if the break is large enough to insert a plumber’s snake into without additional help. If it is not, create a larger opening with the shovel.

Insert the tip of the plumber's snake in the pipe's break, and push the plumber's snake in the pipe until it reaches a blockage. Spin the plumber's snake handle to work the device into the blockage, and then push and/or pull the tool until you free the blockage.

Place the tip of a shop vacuum cleaner's hose on top of the pipe's break or into the pipe. The shop vacuum cleaner must be rated for use with water. Turn on the vacuum cleaner, and use it to remove all of the excess waste water, draining the broken sewer pipe. After the blockage is clear and the water is drained, the pipe is ready for replacement or repair.