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River and Creek Flood Damage in Salt Lake City

Cleanup for homes and businesses that took in water from a creek, a river or an overflowing canal in Salt Lake City, answered 24/7.

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  • Basement water

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Flood Damage

River and Creek Flood Damage: what it covers

Quick answer

River and creek flood damage is the cleanup of a building that took in water from outside, such as an overflowing creek, a river or a canal. This water carries silt and debris and touches more materials than a pipe leak does. Salt Lake City Water Damage Restoration answers flood calls 24/7 and sends a crew to remove the water and begin drying in Salt Lake City.

River and Creek Flood Damage illustration for Salt Lake City, UT, with a river bridge in the background

Outside flood water is a different kind of loss from a supply pipe. It arrives over a wide area, it is muddy, and it can carry sewage, fuel and debris from the ground around the building. A basement that takes in creek water is cleaned differently from a basement that took in water from a broken fitting, and the crew that answers the call plans for that difference from the first visit.

Salt Lake City has a documented history of water coming out of its creeks and river channels. Those records are the reason a flood call here is treated as a serious water loss, even when the water looks shallow. The crew checks the lowest rooms first and asks what the water passed over before it arrived, because the answer changes which materials can be kept.

Flood calls are answered 24/7 and routed to the nearest crew that is free. If water from outside is still coming in, do not wait for it to stop before calling. The technician can explain what to move and what to leave alone while the water is still there, and the best first call is the number on this page, (833) 490-5225.

Service area
Salt Lake City & Salt Lake County
Availability
Phones answered 24/7, emergencies first
Warning signs

Signs you need river and creek flood damage

Keep out of outside flood water until the power is off and a technician has confirmed the room is safe to enter. Do not touch the water, and wash hands and skin thoroughly if you come into contact with it. Do not run generators, pumps or extension cords in standing water, and do not use a gas appliance in a flooded room. Do not handle silt-covered or contaminated materials without gloves and eye protection.

  • Brown or gray water rising in a basement, window well or crawl space after a storm
  • A line of silt or fine mud left on walls, shelves and the bottoms of doors
  • A smell of sewage or fuel in a room that took in outside water
  • Water that has come up through floor drains from the street or a storm line
  • Damp insulation or stained drywall on the lower third of the walls
  • Furniture, appliances or stored boxes sitting in water that has risen from the ground
  • A creek or canal running high and close to the foundation of the building
Our process

How our river and creek flood damage visit works

  1. Keep people out and cut the power

    Outside water can hide live wiring and can be contaminated, so the first step is to keep people and pets out of the water. The power to the affected rooms is switched off at the panel or by the utility before anyone enters. The crew confirms this with you on arrival.

  2. Clear the debris and the silt

    Flood water leaves silt, leaves and small debris on floors and in drains. The technician removes the larger debris first so the extractors can work, and then clears the fine silt that would otherwise settle into carpet and pad. Sump pits and floor drains are checked so they can carry water away again.

  3. Extract the water in stages

    Deep water is pumped down in stages, not all at once, because a fast drop can crack a slab or push water into a wall cavity. The crew watches the water level as it falls and keeps the pumps in the spots where they draw from the lowest point of the room.

  4. Decide what has to come out

    Porous materials that stood in flood water, such as carpet, pad, insulation and the lower part of drywall, are usually removed. Hard materials can often be cleaned and dried. The technician marks each material with a moisture reading and a note, and explains the decision to you before anything is cut.

  5. Dry, clean and record

    After removal, the crew cleans the surfaces that stayed, sets drying equipment and logs readings each day. Photographs of the water line, the removed materials and the drying progress are kept for your claim file and for the crew's own records.

Job stories

Typical jobs for river and creek flood damage

Typical job
Illustration: How creek water in a basement is usually cleaned

How creek water in a basement is usually cleaned

What homeowners notice
Water from outside comes through a window well during a heavy storm and leaves a line of silt on the walls and a layer of mud on the basement floor.
What we do
The crew confirms the power is off, clears the silt and debris before extraction, and pumps the water down in stages. Porous materials that stood in the water are removed, and the walls are read for moisture behind the silt line.
What to expect
The owner receives the photographs, the scope and the readings, with a note of which materials were kept and which were removed.

Set by the depth of silt and the materials that stood in water typical visit

Is flood water from a creek or river different from a pipe leak?

Yes. Outside flood water is muddy, can carry sewage and fuel, and reaches more of a building than a single pipe does. The crew treats it as contaminated until the source is known, which changes the cleaning, the protective gear and what can be kept.

A supply line leak is clean water, and the cleaning that follows is mostly about drying. Creek and river water picks up whatever is on the ground it crosses, which can include garden waste, road runoff and sewage from damaged lines. That is why the crew asks what the water touched before it reached the building, and why the answer shapes the cleaning.

Silt is the mark of outside water. It settles into carpet, cracks and the gaps around doors, and it stays wet long after the surface looks dry. A flood cleanup that only removes the visible mud leaves the fine silt behind, and the crew is trained to check for it in the places a surface cleaner would miss.

What moves the price of flood cleanup?

Flood cleanup is priced by how much water came in, how deep it stood, how many materials are wet and how contaminated the water was. The price is explained and approved before work starts, and this page gives no figure.

Depth and time are the first factors. Water that stood for a long time in a basement is a bigger job than water that drained off within hours, because more materials absorbed it. The number of rooms affected, and whether the water reached the framing or stayed on the floor, also change the scope.

Contamination matters too. Sewage in flood water means more materials are removed and more protective equipment is needed. The technician explains which of those factors apply to your building on site and gives you a written scope before the removal begins.

Should I go into a flooded basement to check it?

No. Standing outside water can hide live electrical wiring, open sewer lines and debris, and it can carry bacteria. Stay out of the water and call for a crew, and let the technician confirm that the power is off before anyone enters.

Look at the water from the stairs or a doorway, if you can do that safely, and note how high it is on the walls. Photograph it from outside the room. Those pictures are useful for your claim and for the crew, and they do not require you to step into the water.

If the water is still rising, leave the building. Do not stay to move things out of the room while water is coming in, and do not drive through flooded roads to reach the property.

What should be saved from a flood and what should go?

Hard, nonporous items such as metal tools and sealed glass can often be cleaned and kept. Porous materials that stood in flood water, such as carpet, pad, upholstered furniture and paper goods, usually cannot be made safe again.

Photographs and a list of what was lost come before any cleaning. Keep the labels of appliances and the model numbers of electronics, because the insurer will ask for them. Do not run flood-soaked electronics or appliances until a technician has checked them.

Clothing, bedding and children's toys that were in flood water should be bagged and kept out of the house. The crew can explain which items are worth cleaning and which are better replaced, and it writes down the decision for your claim.

How does a flood affect the foundation and the walls?

Fast-rising water can push against walls and slabs, and a sudden drop in water can leave the building's materials wet and stressed. The crew watches for cracks, bulging and loose trim, and refers structural concerns to the owner's engineer or building official.

Walls that have been under water for a long time can keep moisture inside the wall cavity. The technician opens a small test area to check it when the readings suggest it is needed. This is a moisture question first and a structural question only when the walls show signs of movement.

The crew does not give a structural opinion on a foundation. If there are cracks that are widening, a wall that has moved, or a floor that is sloping, the owner should have a qualified person look at the building before the drying plan is finished.

Options

Types and options for river and creek flood damage

Basement flooding from a creek or river

A basement is the lowest room in most buildings, so it is where outside water arrives first. Water can come through a window well, an open sump, a floor drain or a wall crack. The crew checks each of those routes, because a basement can keep refilling from a route that was not obvious at the start of the call.

Water that reached the main floor

When outside water rises high enough to pass a threshold or a door, it reaches the main floor and spreads from there. The affected floors are read room by room, and the crew looks at baseboards, wall bases and the space under cabinets, because silt and water hide in those gaps.

Crawl space and cellar flooding

A crawl space that took in outside water holds mud on the ground surface and on the framing above it. The crew checks the vents, the joists and the insulation, and removes the wet insulation that cannot be dried in place. Access is limited in a crawl space, so the plan is written around what can physically be reached.

Garage and outbuilding flooding

Garages and sheds sit on slabs that can collect water at their doors and along their walls. The crew looks at the slab edge, the bottom of the garage wall and any stored items on the floor. Water in these rooms often carries fuel, oil or chemicals from the ground, and the technician notes what was seen before anything is moved.

Salt Lake County

Why river and creek flood damage is different in Wasatch Front, Utah

Big Cottonwood Creek overtopped its dikes at Cottonwood Cove in 1983, a spring when the creek ran over the defenses that were meant to hold it. That event is part of the local record for this kind of loss. Homes near any creek channel in the valley can see the same kind of water, and the crew asks about the nearest creek before it plans the cleanup.

Records show the Jordan River flooded in 1896 and 1909, and the Surplus Canal was first built in 1885 to carry Jordan River overflow. A flood from the river or the canal corridor reaches the lowest ground first, which is why the crew checks the low spots of a property before anything else. A building close to a river channel is cleaned as a river loss, not as a leak.

City Creek overflowed toward downtown Salt Lake City on May 29, 1983. Flooding on a creek can come quickly, and the water can move through streets and yards into buildings in a short time. The crew asks how the water arrived, from the street, the yard, a window well or a storm line, because each route leaves a different pattern on the walls and floors.

One call and it gets handled.

A crew is dispatched as fast as one is available, and you approve the estimate before any work starts.

Call (833) 490-5225Get a quote
Where we work

River and Creek Flood Damage across Salt Lake County

Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.

Related

Surplus Canal and Jordan River Overflow

Water-damage response for buildings near the Surplus Canal or Jordan River corridor when overflow reaches the ground floor or basement in Salt Lake City.

Emergency Water Extraction

Fast removal of standing water from floors, carpet and pad before drying starts, answered 24/7 across Salt Lake City.

Mold After Water Damage

Assessment and removal of mold that grows on wet materials after a water loss, with drying and readings done first in Salt Lake City.

Guides

Read before you book

FAQ

River and Creek Flood Damage FAQs

How soon can a crew reach a home after creek or river water comes in?

Calls are answered 24/7, and a crew is sent as soon as one is free. A flood can affect many buildings at once, so the crew cannot promise a time. Ask the technician for the expected window when you call, and keep the building clear of people while you wait.

Is it safe to pump out a basement after a creek flood?

Not until the crew has checked the power, the level of the water and the outside ground around the building. Pumping out too quickly can damage walls and slabs. The technician sets the pace of the pump-out and tells you when it is safe to begin.

Will the crew remove my carpet after flood water?

Carpet and pad that stood in outside water are usually removed, because they hold silt and contamination and cannot be made safe. The technician shows you the carpet and explains the decision before anything is cut or lifted. Keep photographs of the floor before removal.

Can mold start after a flood?

Mold can begin to grow on wet materials within a short time, which is why drying starts soon after the water is removed. The sooner the materials are dry, the lower the chance of mold. The crew records readings each day so that drying is measured rather than guessed.

What does an insurance adjuster need to see after a flood?

The adjuster will want photographs of the water line, the removed materials and the drying progress, along with the moisture log and any written scope. Whether a flood loss is covered depends on your policy, and the adjuster decides that under the policy terms. This site cannot say what will be paid.

Does a flood cleanup include checking the sewer line?

The crew checks the floor drains and sump pit that were in the flood path, and it notes any sewage that came up through them. A sewer line that is backing up needs a plumber or a sewer specialist to inspect it, and the technician will say so when it is needed.

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