Floodwater covering a city street and reaching the doors of parked cars after a flash flood

Water Damage Restoration in Arlington, TX

Creek flooding, a pipe that split in a freeze, a sewer line backing up. Call any hour and get connected with an independent, locally owned restoration company that takes Arlington calls.

Call (469) 649-7066 Arlington water contacts

Arlington sits on its creeks

Water damage restoration in Arlington, TX often starts with a creek. The city counts 10 major watersheds, and every creek in them carries a mapped 100-year floodplain, the land with a 1% chance of flooding in any year.

Rush Creek drains the largest of those watersheds. The city's Johnson Creek study followed that creek and its tributaries from headwaters near West Arbrook Boulevard to the city limit at State Highway 360, and asked residents to point out where they had seen flooding and erosion. Sublett Creek, a Rush Creek tributary, has its own floodplain buyout history.

Not every wet floor in Arlington comes from a creek, of course. A water heater gives out, a washer hose splits, an ice maker line leaks behind the fridge. But the creeks explain why so many Arlington calls involve muddy water, and why the type of water matters so much to the cleanup.

Water Damage Pro Dallas is a free phone line for those moments. An automated assistant picks up day or night, then hands an Arlington caller to an independent, locally owned restoration company. The line does not do the work itself.

Empty room with a brown waterline and stained lower drywall left by floodwater

The September 2010 Hermine flood and what came after

On September 8, 2010, the remains of Tropical Storm Hermine poured rain on North Texas. Rush Creek left its banks in west Arlington. The Associated Press reported more than 200 homes and condominiums damaged in the city, about half of them along Rush Creek.

The Woodland Park area took the worst of it. Some of the properties there had already flooded three times since 2004. Rather than see the same blocks flood again, the city bought and demolished 49 of the 50 flooded houses there, along with the flooded condominium complexes, paid for entirely with local money, and folded the land into the parks next door.

The buyouts did not end the story. In October 2016 the city received an $879,000 federal grant to buy and tear down six more homes in the Sublett Creek floodplain. In January 2024 it finished a three year, $9.5 million drainage project near Randol Mill Park and Matthews Court meant to cut flood risk for 65 homes. City records showed at least 35 homes there had flooded from drainage that could not keep up, 27 of them as recently as 2018.

And in August 2026, KERA reported Arlington residents pushing the city over creek banks eating into their backyards, with a council member saying close to 1,000 homeowners face similar erosion problems. Creeks that cut closer to houses are worth watching when the next big rain arrives.

When	Where in Arlington	What happened
Sept. 8, 2010	Rush Creek, Woodland Park	Hermine's remnants flooded more than 200 homes and condos, about half along Rush Creek
After 2010	Rush Creek corridor	City bought and demolished 49 houses and the flooded condominium complexes
Oct. 2016	Sublett Creek floodplain	$879,000 federal grant to buy and remove six homes
2018	Matthews Court area near Randol Mill Park	At least 27 homes flooded from undersized drainage
Feb. 2021	Citywide	Winter storm; private line breaks and a boil water notice
Aug. 21 to 22, 2022	Across DFW	DFW Airport logged 9.19 inches in 24 hours
Jan. 2024	Randol Mill Park	$9.5 million drainage work finished to protect 65 homes

Arlington water damage restoration, by the type of water

Pick the service closest to what you are looking at. Creek and street water is a different job from a clean supply line.

Water Extraction and Emergency Water Removal

Standing water from a supply line, water heater or storm: what extraction equipment does, carpet and pad decisions, and why drying has to follow.

Flood Damage Restoration

Rising water from creeks, streets and the Trinity is Category 3. What flood cleanup involves, how to read a FEMA flood map, and why a home policy is not a flood policy.

Burst Pipe Water Damage

Frozen and failed pipes in attics, outside walls and garages. Shut the water off, call a plumber for the pipe and a restoration company for the drying.

Slab Leak Water Damage

A leak under the foundation needs two trades: a licensed plumber finds and repairs the pipe, and a restoration company dries the floors and walls it soaked.

Sewage Cleanup

A toilet, tub or floor drain pushing up dirty water is a Category 3 mess. Who owns the pipe, who to call first and what a careful cleanup looks like.

Water Damage Repair

Putting a house back together after the drying is done: drywall, floors, cabinets and paint, who does each part, permits in Dallas and the paperwork your insurer will want.

February 2021: when Arlington's pressure dropped

Outdoor faucet on a brick wall with ice and a frozen trickle of water on a frosty morning

During the February 2021 winter storm, Arlington's water demand ran close to twice normal. Around 10 a.m. on February 17, an even bigger surge pulled system pressure down sharply. At first it looked like a large main break. After checking around the city, officials concluded the drop came from heavy demand plus many small and medium breaks on private water lines, the pipes on the homeowner's side of the meter.

Before February 17 was over, the city had put all of Arlington under a precautionary boil water notice. Arlington Water Utilities repaired breaks on public lines and made emergency shutoffs at homes and businesses. Pressure came back to normal on the morning of February 19, and all 22 tap water samples met Texas Commission on Environmental Quality requirements before the notice was lifted at 10 a.m. on February 20.

The lesson for the next hard freeze: the pipe that fails is often yours, not the city's. Know where your own shutoff is now, before ice is on the ground.

Arlington numbers to keep by the phone

Arlington Water Utilities, 24 hours: 817-459-5900. Suspected main breaks, leaks, sewer overflows and water contamination. The city can also shut water off at the meter in an emergency.
Water Utilities Customer Care: 817-275-5931. Billing and account questions during weekday business hours (8 a.m. until 5 p.m.).
Stormwater flooding reports: 817-459-6550 or the Ask Arlington app, if your home or business took on water from drainage or a creek.
Planning and Development Services: 817-459-6502 or ArlingtonPermits.com, to find out whether repair work needs a permit.
Oncor outages: 888-313-4747. For a downed power line, leave the area and call 911.
Atmos Energy gas leaks: 866-322-8667, called from outside after you leave the house, along with 911.

Safety first. Shut off the main water valve if you can get to it without risk. Water and electricity together are the real hazard, so stay out of any puddle that touches an outlet, a cord or an appliance. Switch off the breaker only when the panel can be reached from dry flooring; if it cannot, call Oncor or an electrician. A gas smell means everyone goes outside, and the calls to 911 and Atmos Energy are made from there. Floodwater and sewage are not safe to wade through, for adults, children or pets. Once everyone is safe, take photos for the insurance claim and carry valuables and documents to a dry room.

Why Arlington water damage calls differ

Creek water is Category 3

The IICRC S500 standard puts floodwater rising out of a creek in Category 3, the grossly contaminated kind. Carpet, pad and drywall it soaks are usually removed rather than dried. Stay out of it and keep kids and pets away.

Drainage, not just the creek

The Matthews Court homes flooded because storm drains could not carry the rain, not because a creek topped its banks. Water that comes in under a door from the street is still outside water, and the cleanup treats it that way.

Clay under the slab

Expansive clay is common across North Texas. It swells when wet and shrinks in drought, moving slab foundations and the pipes beneath them. An unexplained jump in the water bill or a warm spot on the floor can point to a slab leak.

Rainwater swirling into a curbside storm drain on a residential street

Flood water versus pipe water: the insurance split

Arlington homeowners run into the same line in their policies that everyone in Texas does. According to the Texas Department of Insurance, a typical homeowner or renters policy pays attention to how the water arrived. Water that shows up suddenly, from a pipe that splits or a hose that bursts behind the washer, is usually treated as a covered kind of loss. Slow seepage and long-running drips usually are not, and flooding is left out of home policies entirely. Flood protection is a separate policy, often written through the National Flood Insurance Program, and FEMA notes a new NFIP policy generally waits 30 days before it starts. Shopping for one with a storm in the forecast is usually too late.

If you live near Rush Creek, Johnson Creek or any of the other mapped creeks, check your flood zone on the FEMA map and ask your agent about flood coverage before you need it. If water is already in the house, phone your insurance company about coverage and your deductible, and do what you reasonably can to keep the damage from spreading. TDI warns that skipping that step can give an insurer grounds to turn the claim down.

What to ask before an Arlington company starts

What category of water is this? A clean supply line, gray water from a washer, or Category 3 from a creek, sewer or the street. The answer changes what gets removed.
Where did the water travel? Ask how the company will map moisture with meters, and whether it will share daily readings until the job is dry.
Can I have the estimate in writing first? Before any tear-out, and with the rebuild priced separately from the drying.
Who handles permits? Arlington wants a permit before work that needs one. Ask who pulls it for plumbing or electrical repairs.
What credentials can you show? Ask whether the firm appears on the IICRC Global Locator and whether its insurer will send you a certificate of insurance.
If there is mold, who assesses it? Texas does not let one license holder both assess and remediate mold on the same project. See the Texas mold rules guide.

How a call from Arlington works

Call (469) 649-7066 and say "water damage" first, since the same number answers other home service calls. Give the assistant your Arlington address area, the source of the water, and whether it is still running. If the water came from a creek or the street, say so.

Your call is transferred to an independent restoration company that hears a short summary before picking up. That Arlington-bound company sends someone to look and writes up a price. The work only goes ahead once you agree to it. Payment is between you and the company, with your insurer involved only if you arrange it. Mold removal calls go to a mold remediation company instead, and mold testing calls are taken as a message for now.

Person at a kitchen counter looking at a colored flood map on a laptop

Call the numberAn automated assistant answers (469) 649-7066 at any hour and asks what you need help with. The same number answers other home service calls too, so start with "water damage" or "mold".
Describe what happenedA burst pipe, standing water, a wet ceiling, a slab leak, a sewage backup or mold, plus your town and whether water is still coming in.
Get transferredWater damage calls go to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company; mold removal calls go to an independent mold remediation company. Each hears a short summary before it picks up. Mold testing calls are taken as a message for now.
Deal with that company directlyIt inspects, quotes and does the work, and you pay it (or your insurer does, as you arrange). If it cannot answer, it gets your name, number, city and problem so it can call you back.

Creek water, a split pipe or a backed-up drain in Arlington? Call and describe it. The company you are connected with looks at the damage in person and writes up its estimate before work begins.

Call (469) 649-7066

About this line: Water Damage Pro Dallas is a free phone line, not a restoration or mold company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. Companies may pay a referral fee. Calling the line costs you nothing. See how a call is handled.

More pages that may help

Other DFW towns the line covers

Arlington water damage questions

Who do I call in Arlington when water is pouring from a broken line at the street?

Call Arlington Water Utilities on its 24 hour emergency line, 817-459-5900. The city uses that number for suspected main breaks, leaks, sewer overflows and water contamination. A break on your side of the meter is a private line, so you also need a plumber to fix it. Once water has reached floors or walls, a restoration company handles the drying. Our burst pipe page explains who does what.

How do I know if my Arlington house is in a floodplain?

Arlington says each of its 10 major watersheds has creeks with a 100-year floodplain, which is land with a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. Look up your address on FEMA's flood map, and ask the city's stormwater office if you are unsure. Being outside the mapped zone does not mean you cannot flood; the homes along Matthews Court flooded from drainage problems, not just high creek water.

Does homeowners insurance cover water damage in Arlington if Rush Creek floods?

Usually not. Creek water counts as flood, and Texas home policies leave flood out; it takes its own flood policy. Under FEMA rules, a newly bought National Flood Insurance Program policy usually waits 30 days before it applies. A pipe that bursts or an appliance that fails without warning is treated differently by most home policies. Ask your insurer which one fits your loss. Read our insurance guide.

Is the restoration company I get connected with based in Arlington?

The line connects you with an independent, locally owned company that serves the metroplex, Arlington included. It does not promise a company with an Arlington address. Ask the company where it is based, how it will measure moisture, and whether it will put its estimate in writing before work starts. The checklist for hiring covers the rest.

Do I need a city permit to fix water damage in Arlington?

It depends on the work. Arlington requires a permit before any work that needs one, and Planning and Development Services answers that question at 817-459-6502 or through ArlingtonPermits.com. Plumbing and electrical repairs are the usual places a permit comes up. Ask the company you hire whether it pulls permits for the repair part of the job, and get that answer in writing.

Water in your Arlington home? Make one free call

Say what happened and which town you are in. The automated assistant passes a water damage call to an independent, locally owned DFW restoration company, and a mold removal call to an independent mold remediation company. That company comes out, sees the damage and prices the work itself.

Call (469) 649-7066

Answers day or nightPipes burst at 3 a.m. and storms roll in after dark. The assistant picks up at any hour, every day of the year.
Free to callThe line never bills you. Any price comes from the company you are connected with, and you can ask for it in writing.
Mold testing is separateTexas keeps the mold assessor and the remediator on one job apart, so testing calls are taken as a message.
You decideHear what the company found, read its estimate, ask your insurer your questions, and say yes only when it makes sense.