HOUSTON -- A city of Houston crew apparently used duct tape to repair a broken sewer line last fall that cost a homeowner $3,400 to fix, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

David Higgins and his wife said sewage began backing up in the showers at his house last January. A plumber traced the problem to a broken sewer line in the front yard that was apparently broken by a city crew repairing a water line nearby.

The broken sewer pipe was patched with a piece of plastic from a traffic cone, wrapped with duct tape and reburied.

"It's astounding. To think they'd go ahead and patch it with duct tape and then go ahead and bury it without telling anybody stretches the imagination," Higgins said.

Higgins asked the city to city to reimburse the $3,400 he spent to fix it, but the city refused to pay.

City attorneys suggested he file a claim with the sub-contractor who actually performed the work. They said that is the standard policy.

Higgins said he hired a lawyer.

KPRC asked the city how a sloppy repair job could get past inspectors. The city said routine water line repairs are not inspected because there are so many of them -- 100 to 150 daily.