waterdamagequotesThe pipe you cannot see · and who looks at it
Sewer camera inspection: who runs it, who pays, and what the recording has to show
A camera down the sewer line is how everybody involved in a blocked or failing lateral decides what they are dealing with — and whose problem it is. Cities use it to check their side. Hamilton writes it into what a complete investigation must include. Windsor will pay part of it. Winnipeg makes you pay for it and hand over the footage.
This page sets out what Canadian cities publish about sewer camera inspection: when a city does it for you, when you pay, the standard Hamilton sets for the recording, and what the footage is actually for — including before you buy a house.
The short version
- Toronto’s crews check the City side of a reported blockage with closed-circuit TV before deciding whose problem it is.
- Hamilton says a complete lateral investigation must include a colour CCTV recording of the entire lateral — and may reimburse you for having your own done.
- Windsor’s subsidy pays up to $400 towards dye testing or camera inspection, if you apply first.
- In Winnipeg you arrange and pay for the video yourself, and the City reviews it.
What it is called
| What you would say | What a city or quote calls it | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Sewer camera | CCTV investigation / closed-circuit TV | Toronto’s and Hamilton’s term. |
| Sewer scope | Video inspection | Winnipeg’s term; it wants a copy. |
| Checking the line | Sewer lateral investigation | Hamilton’s complete investigation includes the recording. |
| Dye test | Dye testing | Traces where a drain connects; funded with camera work in Windsor. |
| Before buying | Pre-purchase inspection | No city rule found; a buyer’s own decision. |
| The access point | Clean-out | No clean-out, no camera — see the clogged sewer line page. |
Who runs the camera, and who pays
City of Toronto, Blocked or Backed-Up Basement Drain · 2026
Page modified May 11, 2026; the City marks the four hours with an asterisk. The instruction is to report a blocked sewer service line or basement flooding to 311. The technician first investigates the City-side portion of the line using closed-circuit TV; if the City side is clear, the problem is on the private side and the owner is advised to call a licensed plumber.
| City | Who runs it | Who pays |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Toronto Water, on the City side, after a 311 report | The City, for its side |
| Hamilton | The City, or your own licensed plumber or sewer contractor | Not invoiced if a qualifying defect is found; you may be reimbursed for your own |
| Windsor | A City of Windsor licensed plumber | Subsidy up to $400, apply first |
| Winnipeg | Your contractor | You; the City reviews the copy |
City of Windsor, Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program · 2026
The City adds that any work performed by the homeowner, or completed prior to approval, will not be eligible for a subsidy. Read against Toronto, where you apply within two years after installation, these are opposite instructions for the same device.
City of Winnipeg, Private sewer pipe responsibilities · 2026
Part of Winnipeg's sequence where the problem may be under City property. The owner pays for the camera; the City reviews the footage.
The pattern is the same as for the pipe itself. Where a city’s side might be the problem, the city looks at its side. Where the pipe is yours, the camera is yours too — and in Winnipeg, where the owner’s pipe runs under the street to the main, that is almost all of it.
Region of Peel, Emergency help with a sewer backup · 2026
The Region's residential fee for its sewer backup service, in Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon. It adds that if the backup is in a municipal-owned pipe, the service might be free. Peel describes the plumbing cleanout as a solid 4-inch cap, flush to the floor, usually at the front of the house in the basement.
What a proper inspection records
City of Hamilton, Sewer Back-Up and Blocked Drains (archive copy of June 4, 2026) · 2026
What Hamilton says a complete sewer lateral investigation must include. The City adds that an owner who retains their own qualified, licensed plumber or sewer contractor for the investigation may be eligible for reimbursement of some or all of the cost. hamilton.ca could not be reached from this host on September 28, 2026; the page was read from an archived copy.
The publisher’s own copy: http://web.archive.org/web/20260604000000/https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/home-property/basement-flooding/sewer-back-and-blocked-drains
Hamilton’s standard is the most specific any city on this site publishes, and it is a useful checklist wherever you are: colour rather than black and white, and the entire length of the lateral rather than the first few metres. A recording that stops short of the main cannot tell you whose side a defect is on, which is the only question most homeowners are paying to answer.
- The whole run. From the clean-out to the main, with the distance marked.
- Where the property line falls on that distance, so a defect can be placed on one side or the other.
- A copy you keep. Winnipeg asks for one; any claim, subsidy or dispute will too.
- What the operator found, in writing: roots, a sag, a crack, a collapse, grease.
What the footage is for
Three decisions depend on it, and each has its own page on this site.
City of Hamilton, Sewer Back-Up and Blocked Drains (archive copy of June 4, 2026) · 2026
Part of Hamilton's definition of a qualifying defect, together with a structural deficiency in the public portion. Where the private portion is affected by City-tree roots and the owner replaces or rehabilitates the entire private portion, the City says a one-time reimbursement of part of the cost may be available, up to a maximum set in its Sewer and Drain By-law; the page gives no figure and this site did not find one.
The publisher’s own copy: http://web.archive.org/web/20260604000000/https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/home-property/basement-flooding/sewer-back-and-blocked-drains
First, whose side: the city’s or yours, which decides who pays — see clogged sewer line. Second, what caused it: City-tree roots open a reimbursement in Hamilton and a maintenance list in Ottawa, and flushed materials can make even a public-side defect your bill in Hamilton. Third, repair or replace: London’s own crews inspect with a camera before choosing between lining and replacing, which is the next page — sewer line replacement.
City of London, Sewers and wastewater · 2026
The City adds that if the Private Drain Connection has collapsed or is severely damaged, there may be no other solution than to replace it. Lining versus replacement is the single largest swing in what a failing lateral costs, and it is decided by the pipe's condition rather than by preference.
Before you buy a house
No city this site read requires a sewer inspection before a sale, and this site found no Canadian regulator guidance on it. It is still the one inspection that answers a question a general home inspection cannot: what the buried pipe you are about to own looks like. In a city where that pipe runs to the main — London, Hamilton, Winnipeg — the answer covers the whole length under the lawn and, in Winnipeg, under the street.
City of London, Sewers and wastewater · 2026
The City is responsible for the sanitary sewer main within the roadway in front of the property. This is the opposite of Ottawa, where the owner's responsibility stops at the property line and the City's runs from there to the main. The same failure under the same boulevard is the homeowner's bill in London and the City's in Ottawa.
Older houses are where it matters. London’s own figure is that about 50,000 homes still have weeping tiles connected to the sanitary sewer; Saskatoon says homes built from 1966 to 2004 were built that way. A camera shows that connection, and in the cities that fund disconnecting it, that is money on the table — see weeping tile.
What the camera leads to
An inspection that finds nothing is money well spent. One that finds roots leads to clearing and, eventually, to lining or replacement; one that finds a collapse leads straight to replacement. The published price for that, in the one city that publishes it, is on the sewer line replacement page. The insurance side — what covers the pipe and what covers the water — is on service line coverage.
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Questions people actually ask
Does the city do a free sewer camera inspection?
For its own side, often. Toronto Water investigates the City-side portion of a reported blockage using closed-circuit TV. Hamilton does not invoice its investigation if a qualifying defect is found, but does if the defect is on the private portion only.
Is there a subsidy for sewer camera inspection?
Windsor's Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy pays up to $400 for foundation drain disconnection, dye testing or camera inspection, if you apply before any work and use a City of Windsor licensed plumber. Hamilton may reimburse some or all of the cost of an investigation by your own licensed contractor.
What should a sewer camera inspection include?
Hamilton says a complete sewer lateral investigation must include a colour CCTV recording showing the internal condition of the entire length of the lateral.
Who pays for sewer camera inspection in Winnipeg?
The owner. Winnipeg's instruction is to arrange and pay for a video inspection of your sewer pipe and give the City a copy to review.
Should I get a sewer inspection before buying a house?
No Canadian city this site read requires one, and this site found no regulator guidance. It is the only inspection that shows the buried lateral, which in London, Hamilton and Winnipeg is entirely the owner's.
What does a sewer camera find?
Whose side of the property line a defect is on, and what caused it — roots, grease, a crack or a collapse. London's crews inspect with a camera before deciding whether to line or replace a Private Drain Connection.
Where to read next
- Clogged sewer line: who pays
- Sewer line replacement
- Service line coverage
- Weeping tile, and disconnecting it
- Hamilton: its sewer rules and grant
Sources cited on this page
- City of Toronto, Blocked or Backed-Up Basement Drain
- City of Hamilton, Sewer Back-Up and Blocked Drains (archive copy of June 4, 2026)
- City of Windsor, Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program
- City of Winnipeg, Private sewer pipe responsibilities
- Region of Peel, Emergency help with a sewer backup
- City of London, Sewers and wastewater
- City of Saskatoon, Protective Plumbing
Every figure above was read from the source it is attributed to on September 20, 2026. How we check this.
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