Emergency Sewer Repair in Myrtle Beach

Sewage coming up through a drain? Stop using water and call your utility first. Active backups are scheduled first.

Camera inspection first
Written, itemized quotes
Licensed and insured

Photo: Senior Airman Megan Floyd/U.S National Guard, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Emergency sewer repair is the urgent fix for a sewer line that has failed: sewage coming up into the house, every drain stopped, sewage surfacing in the yard, or a pipe broken by digging. Myrtle Beach Sewer Line Repair handles emergency sewer repair in Myrtle Beach, Conway and across Horry County, and active sewage backups are scheduled first. If sewage is backing up right now, stop using water and call your sewer utility before any emergency plumber, because the blockage may be on the utility’s side.

Call (843) 429-6659 for emergency sewer repair; if sewage is backing up, call your sewer utility first.

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Choose your area

Who owns the line, which utility to call and which permits apply differ by town. Pick yours:

Myrtle Beach Conway North Myrtle Beach Surfside Beach Carolina Forest Socastee Murrells Inlet Garden City More areas

What to do right now

Stop using water. Every flush, shower or laundry load adds to the backup, and it comes out of the lowest drain in the house. Tell everyone in the home, guests and renters included.
Call your sewer utility first. In GSWSA areas, such as Surfside Beach, Garden City, Socastee, Carolina Forest and Little River, the rule is “Call GSWSA before you call your plumber”: (843) 234-8460, or (843) 443-8200 after hours. GSWSA says its staff are available at any hour, every day, to investigate sewer backups, and “There is no charge to the customer for this service.” In Loris, the city’s after-hours line is (843) 756-4004, option 2 (other city pages list (843) 421-5391). In Murrells Inlet, GCWSD’s after-hours line is (843) 546-8408. In the City of Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach and Conway, call the number on your water bill. Our sewer backup page has the full list.
Keep people and pets away from sewage. The CDC’s cleanup guidance says to keep children and pets out of the affected area until cleanup is done, and to wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles if sewage is involved.
Stay clear of electricity near standing water. If outlets, cords or appliances are wet or near water, the CDC says to turn off power at the main breaker, but to call an electrician if you would have to stand in water to reach it. Never touch a switch or appliance while standing in water.
Grinder pump home? Save the tank’s space. GSWSA says a typical home pumping unit, such as an Environmental One unit, holds about 70 gallons and “will not pump without power.” During an outage, skip laundry, dishes and showers, flush only when needed, and stay away from a wet control panel. The CDC warns never to run a generator indoors or connect one to home circuits without approved automatic-interrupt devices.
Smell gas? If you cannot tell sewer gas from natural gas, leave the house and call your gas company or 911 from outside.

The oceanfront boardwalk in Myrtle Beach. Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Louis L. Rivers, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

What counts as a sewer emergency?

A sewage pump station inside its pit. Photo: Jung Pumpen GmbH, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Treat it as an emergency when sewage is coming into the house or yard, no drain will take water, a grinder pump has stopped, the ground is sinking over the line, or digging has broken the pipe. A single slow drain can usually wait for a scheduled visit.

Symptom	Likely cause	What we do
Sewage rising in a tub, shower or toilet	A blockage downstream in your line, the utility’s lateral or the main	After the utility checks its side, we clear the line and run the camera
No drain in the house will take water	A main line clog, a collapsed section or a full grinder pump tank	Clear the line or check the pump, then inspect before quoting
Sewage overflowing from the yard cleanout	A blockage downstream of the cleanout, possibly in the utility’s section	Utility first; if its side is clear, we clear and inspect your line
Grinder pump alarm, or the pump has stopped	Power loss, a tripped circuit, or a jammed or failed pump	Limit water use, ask your utility who maintains it, and see grinder pump repair
A sinkhole, soggy patch or sewage smell over the line	A broken or separated pipe leaking and washing out sand	Keep people off it; we locate the break with the camera and mark it
A pipe broken by digging, a fence post or stump removal	Physical damage to the line	Stop water use; we cap or bypass it, then make the permanent repair

Our guide to the grinder pump alarm covers what you can safely check. One slow sink or tub, or drains that are slow but still moving, can usually wait.

How we handle an emergency sewer repair

Your utility checks its side. If the blockage is in its main or lateral, the utility fixes it.
Scheduling. Tell us what is happening and whether you have a cleanout, a grinder pump or a septic tank. Active sewage backups are scheduled first.
Restore flow. We clear the stoppage from a cleanout with a cable machine or a jetter suited to the pipe; see sewer line cleaning.
Find the cause. A sewer camera inspection shows what failed, such as roots, a collapse, an offset joint or a sag full of sand, and lets us mark the spot and depth.
Make it safe. That can mean capping an open pipe, fencing off a hole, a temporary bypass or limiting water use.
Written, itemized quote for the permanent repair. We pull the permit, request SC811 locates for the public utilities and schedule the inspection.
Permanent repair and a final camera video of the finished line.

Every job is done by licensed plumbers and covered by liability insurance.

Hands repairing a buried pipe in an excavated trench

Do emergency sewer repairs need a permit?

Clearing a stoppage does not, but replacing broken pipe does, even in an emergency. South Carolina’s edition of the 2021 International Residential Code treats replacing defective concealed pipe as new work that needs a permit and an inspection, and for emergency repairs “the permit application shall be submitted within the next working business day to the building official.”

The repair does not have to wait on paperwork. We pull the permit from whichever office covers your address: Horry County, a city or town, or Georgetown County for Murrells Inlet, where an $8,000 job carries a $75.50 permit fee before any plan-check fee. South Carolina requires a state-licensed plumber for plumbing work over $500, though owner-occupants may do their own work.

New sewer pipe laid in an open trench during a line replacement

Which permanent repair fits a broken sewer line?

The camera decides. A single break in sound pipe usually gets a spot repair, cracked pipe that still holds its shape can often be lined or replaced by pipe bursting, and a collapse along the run or a deep sag usually means digging up and replacing that section.

Lining and pipe bursting work through small access pits; see trenchless sewer repair. Open-trench work is covered under sewer line replacement. In soft, wet ground, GSWSA’s standards require muck or quicksand in the trench to be replaced with gravel or crushed stone, and all trenching must follow OSHA rules.

What a complete written quote includes

Emergency work already done, such as clearing or capping, listed apart from the permanent repair
Camera findings, with the video and the distance to each defect
The repair method, and the length and depth of pipe involved
Permit and inspection
SC811 locates for public utilities, and locating of your private line
Restoration of yard, driveway or sidewalk
Cleanouts added
Disposal of old pipe and debris
Any utility fees

When the emergency is on the public side

Sometimes the failure is the utility’s to fix: a blocked main, a pump station overwhelmed in a storm or a broken force main.

On October 10, 2025, the City of Myrtle Beach found a break in an 8-inch sewer force main near 76th Avenue North and Briarwood Drive, which it said was “caused by stump-pulling activities at a nearby construction site” (WMBF News).
During Hurricane Florence, raw sewage flowed from the Conway Wastewater Treatment Plant into a tributary of the Waccamaw River on September 26, 2018 (NWS Wilmington).
GSWSA asks residents to report an activated pump-station alarm to (843) 234-8460 and, during hurricanes, to “flush your commodes only when necessary until the storm passes.”

Our guide to flood sewer backups during hurricanes covers storm season, and a backwater valve can help keep a backed-up main from pushing sewage into the house.

Emergency sewer repair FAQ

Will GSWSA charge me to check a sewer backup?

No. GSWSA says there is no charge to investigate a sewer backup; staff either advise you or fix the problem if it is GSWSA’s responsibility. Call (843) 234-8460, or (843) 443-8200 after hours.

What if the utility says the problem is on my side?

Then the blockage or break is in your own line, and that is the part we fix. We clear it, find the cause with a camera and give you a written quote before any repair.

What should I do if my grinder pump stops during a power outage?

Use as little water as possible: a typical GSWSA home unit holds about 70 gallons and will not pump without power. If the alarm continues once power is back, ask your utility who maintains the pump.

Can a broken sewer line be fixed without digging?

Sometimes. Lining and pipe bursting can renew cracked pipe through small access points, but a collapsed section or a deep sag usually has to be dug up and replaced.

Is sewage in the yard dangerous?

Treat it as contaminated. Keep children and pets away, do not mow over it, wear rubber boots and gloves if you must go near it, and call your utility, then us, to find where it is escaping.

Should I pour drain cleaner into a backed-up drain?

No. Chemical drain openers rarely clear a main line blockage, they sit in the standing water someone will have to work in, and mixing two products can cause a dangerous reaction.

How much does emergency sewer repair cost?

It depends on what failed, how deep and long the damaged section is, and what must be restored. You get a written, itemized quote first, and our sewer line replacement cost guide explains the price drivers.